For this story, we commenced on a grueling trek through every Strip casino—and Gameworks, of course—in search of video arcades. Most casinos had them. Others asked why the slot machines weren't good enough. Our main criterion: how many immersive or so-called virtual reality games they had. We rated each on our 1-5 joystick scale.
New York-New York
4.5 joysticks
A massive, sprawling arcade, even without the midway and roller coaster. There's a little bit of everything: Final Furlong, DDR, MoCap Boxing and more.
Flamingo
1 joystick
Not so much an arcade as a hallway. Actually, make that half a hallway, between Lindy's coffee shop and the parking garage. It's my first encounter with the strangely disturbing Pixy Prize game. The two bizarre characters that sit in the game's window will haunt me.
Imperial Palace
1.5 joysticks
In the back, down a hall and past some lockers. Eleven machines total; 13 if you count the change machines. A giant gear assembly on the ceiling invokes that crucial Emile Zola-Germinal feel necessary for all good arcades.
Stardust
1 joystick
With only 16 games, two of which were broken, there's not a single immersive machine here. Wayne Newton should hang his head in shame.
Harrah's
1 joystick
Upstairs near the Fairfield timeshare sales center. Nine games total. I swear I see one of the Pixy Prize figures turning to watch me.
Mirage
1 joystick
Near Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden. A DDR Max 2, called DDR 7th Mix in Japan. Those Japanese, always ahead of us! On the night I visit, no one's playing it. The arcade closes at 10, but that's OK because it's so small, you won't want to be there long.
Caesars
3 joysticks
Past the talking dysfunctional family statues, behind the Race for Atlantis entrance, and just beyond the Aqua Massage beds is one of the coolest immersive games—Beatmania III. While I pretend I'm Paul Van Dyk, my wife can have her body kneaded by water jets. This is life in the 21st century!
Mandalay Bay
0 joysticks
No arcade means no immersive games, unless you count Friday nights at Rumjungle.
Luxor
4.5 joysticks
Not just an arcade, but the location of the mythical Games of the Gods. Enter ye mortals through a tunnel of light and behold, an original Frogger! There's also a ton of immersive games. At some point, my notes degenerate into raving scribbles. This is VR nirvana. But what the hell is Skillards?
Excalibur
3.5 joysticks
For some reason, I expected more from a casino that, itself, looks like a giant arcade. No DDR games. Instead is the Korean knock-off, Pump It Up The Premiere 2. But there is a gift store.
MGM Grand
2.5 joysticks
In case you've never examined every inch of this 171,500-square-foot casino, the video arcade is in the back and downstairs. I found a MoCap Boxing game, but I was too tired from searching to play it.
Tropicana
2.5 joysticks
The trip to the arcade beats the games inside. Go through the casino, watch your head as you pass the cigar store, enter the outside world, follow the outdoor pool, dodge the indoor pool and spa's humidity, and you're home free. Your reward: it's a video game arcade and a business center!
Paris
0 joysticks
No arcade. Yet another reason to hate the French.
Bally's
2.5 joysticks
Go downstairs (Bally's has a downstairs?), through the long shopping mall, and past the slot machine graveyard, you'll find a DDR and Beach Head 2002, a game in which you pull a helmet down over your head and play on the screens inside. From the outside, you're a dork, spinning in place and shrieking. From the inside, you're collecting lice from the previous player.
Bellagio
N/A
Start walking toward the convention center and next to Cafe Gelato you'll find a closed arcade. No fears, it's slated to reopen February 21.
T.I.
3.5 joysticks
Not just DDR, not DDR USA, but DDR Extreme!
Venetian
0 joysticks
They have canals, a store that features art by Donna Summer, but no arcade? Non capisco.
Gameworks
5 joysticks
You can't get much better than this. Down one of their 48-ounce margaritas, hit the Rapid River game and start the countdown until vomit liftoff. Seriously, this place rocks! And when they fix the Virtual Arena life-size fighting game, I'll upgrade the score to 6.
Circus Circus
4 joysticks
With midway games on half the floor, the size is deceptive. But it's one of the few spots in town with Rolling Extreme, a street luge game. I also learn that I have yet to conquer my fear of clowns.
ESPN Zone
5 joysticks
Another perfect score, and the proximity of alcohol has nothing to do with it. After all the boxing games, shooting games and dancing games, I find myself transfixed by one in which you play pingpong with another player. Did I mention the games all have cup-holders?
Riviera
3.5 joysticks
Behind the escalator is a surprising number of games, including pinball machines for guys even older than me.
Stratosphere
3.5 joysticks
Located upstairs, but thankfully not all the way upstairs. There are a number of regular games but not a lot to choose from in the immersive genre. A DDR Extreme and a Dirt Dash, an off-road rally racer designed to prepare you for the Spaghetti Bowl, round out the small selection.
Sahara/NASCAR Cafe
1.5 joysticks
It's difficult to judge an arcade from behind a security barrier. Why am I behind a security barrier? Because the upstairs arcade closes at the ungodly early hour of 8 p.m. Fitting for the NASCAR-themed part of the casino, I spy a set of ATV Track games. Optional tank tops are available in the gift shop.