Can You Guess Which Casino Is the Most Family-Friendly?

There are many places in the US that are ideal for a family trip. For instance, consider Disneyland. Or maybe Yellowstone. Or Washington, DC. 

Hell, you might even be able to spin New York as a family destination. But surely you wouldn’t take your kid to a casino destination, right? Right?

Well, we’re here to shatter that illusion. You might be surprised to find out that there are some casinos in the US that are very family-friendly. After all, casinos aren’t just about gambling and drinking. There are entertainment options, restaurants, cinemas, and even arcades at some of the best casinos in America. 

So, how did we go about the very difficult task of finding out which casinos in the US are the most family-friendly? Well, we sent our friend who has a two-year-old to visit every casino in the country and let us know what she thought. We’re joking, of course. 

In reality, we headed to Tripadvisor to look for mentions of certain keywords like “family friendly,” “kids activities,” and “arcade,” so that we could rank them on a scale.

Here's our (extensive) final ranking:

If you know a little bit about casinos, you might be able to guess which one topped our list. Yes, it’s true, finally the time has come for Circus Circus in Las Vegas to bag the top spot for something. 

The casino got 17.27% on our scale, with almost 2,500 keyword mentions out of about 14,000 reviews. Over 600 reviews said it was “family friendly,” while more than 700 called it out as being “kid friendly.” 

Circus Circus was actually the first family-friendly casino in Las Vegas, having opened back in 1968. The hotel came later, in the early 1970s, and to this day it’s one of the more popular options for Vegas visitors with small children. But what do the reviews say? 

One person said, “If you have kids, this is the place to stay. It’s like a giant indoor amusement park. Looked like a nice little water park outside too”. 

Next on the list, Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa came in at second place with 16.58%. We were impressed to see that there were more than 800 mentions of our keywords. 

Red Rock is located just outside of Summerlin, so it’s a good bit away from the hustle and bustle of the strip. No wonder it’s a little more geared towards families. 

Red Rock Casino has also been named one of the world’s best new hotels by Conde Nast Traveler and a Four-Diamond recipient. As one reviewer put it, “Great stay! The pool was beautiful, and awesome for family trips. Movie theater, bowling alley, food court, and restaurants are spectacular”. 

Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, bagged third place on our list, with 15.55% on the scale. The most frequently mentioned word here was “arcade.” There are over 7,400 slots for the adults, but the whole family can enjoy the arcade and the six movie theaters.

According to one review, “Great place to take younger kids/grandkids! Separate pool for a family and one for 21 and older! The District is an arcade with bowling and a movie theater! If you have kids, I recommend staying at the Sky Tower, not the Spa Tower! Fun Casino! Great food and atmosphere!” 

Now, if you can get past all those exclamation marks, that review is actually quite a shining endorsement of how good Choctaw Casino is for families. 

In fourth, we have Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, in Reno, Nevada. This one got 10.18% on the scale, and 300 people called it “family friendly.” 

Another 389 mentioned that there’s an arcade. In fact, beyond the slots, table games, and sportsbook, there’s also a spa, restaurants, and the special Fun Quest area, which has laser tag, arcade games, and lots more. 

As one happy customer put it, “If you are visiting Reno, GSR is the place to be; especially if you have kids! They have so many entertainment/activity options to choose from that your kids will never be bored. Swimming, movie theater, bowling, billiards, arcade, escape rooms etc.”

Finally, the fifth most family-friendly casino in all of the US is Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno. This one received 9.26%, with about 800 out of 8,000 reviews mentioning one of our keywords. With a name like Atlantis, you’re probably expecting a bit of a themed casino, and you won’t be disappointed. 

One person said, “The Purple Parrot has great food and service. The kids really liked the arcade.”, while another commented, “Great food and fun gaming. Highly recommend the Atlantis to everyone, fun game room for the kids and a spa for the adults”. Sounds like a great balance for everyone. 

But what about the other end of the scale? There are plenty of casinos that simply aren’t family-friendly at all. So if you’re travelling with kids or even teens, you’re best off avoiding them.

According to Tripadvisor, the least family-friendly casino is The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which got just 0.8%. Having visited, we can’t argue with that—the Cosmo is definitely more geared towards adults. 

We can’t imagine that kids would have much fun at some of the higher-end dining establishments. Plus, there are no activities for children, like arcades or roller coasters. Five of the 1,600+ reviews used the words “family friendly.” 

One review seemed to sum it up quite well, saying, “Walking into the hotel/casino, you aren’t bombarded with kids all over the place, this hotel/casino is made for a mature crowd, and it shows,” while another was horrified that there were any children present in a hotel so full of smoke. 

Second from the bottom, Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, got 2.19% on our scale. There was only one mention of “kids activities”, and absolutely no one mentioned “family suite,” so we’re guessing they don’t have any of those. 

Besides the casino and hotel, Mohegan Sun Pocono offers comedy shows and nightlife, golf, and live racing, but none of that sounds ideal for kids. 

One reviewer said, “Would recommend for couples and adults - not very family friendly - if you're looking for a quick getaway and not too many bells and whistles, Mohegan Sun is for you.” 

That sentiment seemed to be echoed by others, who said that it wasn’t a great experience for underaged guests. 

The third worst casino for families is Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, which received a rating of 2.54%. A total of only 33 reviews called out any of our keywords, with the most frequent mention being “safe,” which came up 15 times. 

While one review mentioned that no parent in their right mind would bring their kids here for a vacation, we’re certain that people do it, because according to another review, “Kids who are way too young to gamble are in there playing. 

That doesn't bother me as much as watching a grown man literally get into a fistfight with a slot machine”. We don’t know about you, but we wouldn’t necessarily want our families exposed to unhinged people fighting with slot machines, so we might just go ahead and skip this place. 

The Cosmopolitan is not the only place in Las Vegas that travelers with young children might want to avoid, as Caesars Palace came in fourth from the bottom of our list. Caesars got a rating of 2.74%, and while 800 or so keyword mentions might sound like a lot, it’s not that much when you consider that there are over 30,000 reviews of the casino in total. 

_{Circus Circus tops our list of family-friendly casinos in Vegas. (Image: Parmorama / Alamy)}

One person said, “During my recent stay I had a very good experience; however, I feel it was a little loud and not so family friendly as I thought,” while another complained, “We repeatedly said we had a senior citizen and two kids, but they gave us rooms all the way in the end, which made walking up and down very difficult.”

And finally, fifth from the bottom of the list is Harrah's New Orleans Casino in Louisiana. Don’t worry too much if you can’t find many mentions of this one online, because it has actually been rebranded to Caesars New Orleans as of a few years ago. 

Part of the casino was demolished to make way for a second hotel tower, so we’d be interested to see if it becomes more family-friendly in its new format. 

Back when it was Harrah’s, this casino got a low rating of just 2.88% on our scale, with only 12 keyword mentions in about 400 reviews. One person pulled absolutely no punches and said, “Love the pool. 21 and over, which I like, because I'm there to relax away from kids and grandkids lol”. Lol. 

Methodology 

Casinos.com utilized Tripadvisor reviews to do an in-depth analysis of phrases associated with being family-friendly to determine the US casino that is the most family-friendly. We calculated the percentage of family-related mentions in the total Tripadvisor reviews.

Keywords tracked: family friendly, kids activities, kid friendly, arcade, kid's club, family suite, childcare, babysitting, safe;

Disclaimer 

The data in this article is intended for entertainment purposes only. Casinos.com does not claim any one casino to be “more family-friendly” than another. Please don’t use the information presented in this article as gambling or betting advice, and as always, please bet responsibly. 

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