Casinos in Vegas Hit by Lack of Coins

By Mike J. Davies Editor in Chief at Casinos.US Updated: 09/09/2020

Mike J. Davies Editor in Chief at Casinos.US See Full Bio

Mike is our Senior Editor and experienced gambling strategist. A former hockey player, he transitioned to the casino industry after finishing his B.A. in English. Blackjack systems, online casino guides, gambling terms, and more – Mike is familiar with all fine points of gambling.

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Casinos in Vegas Hit by Lack of Coins

The slot machine has long been a staple at casinos in Las Vegas. Even as technology has moved forward, players have shown that they still prefer playing slots using their bucket of coins, as opposed to more modern methods. There’s a problem with this now though, as a nationwide lack of coins has meant that Vegas casinos have had to scramble to ensure they have enough coins for the demand.

The coin shortage, as with many other things in the country and around the world, has been brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many businesses being shut down over the past few months, coins have simply left circulation, which is a big problem for businesses like casinos, that need huge coin reserves in order to operate.

It’s also the case that nervous shoppers now simply don’t want to touch physical money, out of fear of contracting COVID-19. Recently, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has urged people around the country to start spending their physical money again, or deposit any cash they have into banks, where it can be used to boost the cash available to businesses around the country.

Coin-Operated Machines Open in a Handful of Venues

Because of the severe lack of coins in circulation, only a few casinos in Downtown Vegas have slot machines available to visitors. One of these is El Cortez, but even they are struggling to keep slot machines open to those visiting their venue.

According to the general manager of El Cortez, Adam Wiesberg, they had around $120,000 in coins before the pandemic, however when venues shut, they paid all but $30,000 into the bank. They were then unable to get the coins back when casinos reopened. He said:

Our first coin order that we did after reopening, in July, we ordered $30,000 in quarters. When the Brinks people came, they brought us just $500 in quarters. That’s when we realized first-hand that there was a coin issue. We’re fortunate we kept that $30,000.

In an attempt to get their hands on as many coins as possible, El Cortez has removed the 5% fee charged by coin counting machines. This means that those depositing their change into the machines will get to keep everything. The coins are simply more important to the casino that the profits they would make from the machines.

The End for Coin-Operated Machines?

There are some who believe that this issue could hasten the departure of coin-operated slots from casinos. The technology is now there to play slots using various other methods, which don’t require the casino to have such vast amounts of coins in reserve. As with many things though, people are stuck in their ways, with many preferring using coins to play slot machines.

Adam Wiesberg has confirmed that his venue has no plans to remove coin-operated slots from the floors any time soon. This is despite the fact that many manufacturers are no longer producing them, which can make repairing and maintaining the existing machines difficult.