The San Diego area has 10 casinos with slot machines. And if you plan to play, here’s how to find the loosest slots in San Diego in 2023.

If you want to play the loosest slots in San Diego in 2023, play slot machines with $1 and higher denominations.

Higher denomination slots are the loosest in San Diego. This post explains why, and it also explains how to find the best individual slot machines.

Be sure to also check out my post about the loosest slots in Deadwood. It’s only about 20 hours away, but South Dakota and San Diego have the same initials, SD. (My brain just works funny, I guess.)

How to Find the Loosest Slots in San Diego

Learning how to find the loosest slots in San Diego isn’t as simple as it is in many states and areas. But you can use information from other states and areas to help identify the loosest slots in San Diego in 2023. I include everything I know about loose San Diego slots in this section.

All casinos offering slot machines in and around are tribal casinos. I cover more about tribal and commercial casinos in another section below.

Tribal casinos have different reporting responsibilities than commercial casinos. In most states with commercial casinos, the states publish gambling reports. And many of these gambling reports list slot machine profits and/or pay out percentages.

Also, many state reports break the slot machine details down by denomination. The loosest slots are in the denominations that pay out the highest percentage or have the lowest profit percentage.

But tribal casinos don’t report the same way as commercial casinos, and California doesn’t publish reports with slots information. However, there is good news:

San Diego tribal casinos use the same slot machines as casinos in other states. So you can use reports from other states to identify the slot denominations that are loosest. You don’t have to dig through all of the reports because I’ve done it for you.

On average, the loosest slots in San Diego in 2023 are high denomination machines. $5 slots tend to be the loosest slot machines, followed by $1 denomination machines. So, if you want to play loose slots in San Diego, play the highest denomination machines you can afford to play.

How to Avoid the Tightest Slot Machines in San Diego

From the same reports, you can learn how to avoid the tightest slot machines in San Diego. Unfortunately, the tightest slots in San Diego are also the most popular slot machines.

The tightest slot machines in San Diego casinos are penny slots. And progressive slots are usually tighter than other slots games.

Penny slots are almost always the worst slot machines in casinos. While the difference varies by casino and by state, penny slots usually have a house edge around 2% higher than higher denomination slots games.

So if the average return for $1 slots sits at 92%, penny slots will be around 90%. And as it turns out, these numbers are common throughout in the United States.

But in each denomination, some slots have higher returns, and others have lower returns. The only way to find the loosest slots in San Diego and elsewhere is by playing different machines and paying attention to your results.

If you want to avoid the tightest slots in San Diego in 2023 and beyond, don’t play penny slots. Play $1 or $5 San Diego slots, and try as many machines as you can. If you play on enough high denomination slot machines, you’re going to find some machines are looser than others.

As far as the casino in San Diego with the loosest slot machines, every casino in the market has some tight machines and some loose machines. You just have to find the loosest slots games where you’re playing.

Tribal and Commercial Slots Casinos in San Diego, California

You need to know the difference between tribal and commercial slots casinos in San Diego, California. The laws governing casinos in San Diego are the same laws governing casinos and gambling in the rest of the state.

All casinos in Sand Diego and California are Indian tribe casinos. The laws in California outlaw commercial casinos. Only Indian tribes with legal compacts with California can own casinos in the state. So, there are no commercial casinos in San Diego or anywhere else in California.

The only commercial gambling businesses in California are card rooms. And while some California card rooms offer versions of some casino table games (like blackjack, for example), card rooms aren’t allowed to offer slot machines.

Some card rooms in San Diego and California use the casino name, but they don’t offer slots games.

Here’s an example:

Located at 121 Brooks Street in Oceanside, California, Ocean’s 11 Casino operates the biggest poker room in the San Diego area. But Ocean’s 11 Casino only has poker and a few table games. They don’t have slots games.

So don’t assume a casino in San Diego or anywhere else in California has slot machines just because it includes casino in the name.

San Diego Slots Casinos

While this post covers San Diego slots casinos, there aren’t any casinos that are actually in San Diego in 2023. So maybe the title should be casinos with slot machines near San Diego instead.

But even though there aren’t any casinos in San Diego, there are 10 casinos in the San Diego market. Here’s a quick overview of all 10 casinos with slot machines in the San Diego market in 2023.

All 10 San Diego market slots casinos claim to have the loosest slots or be the best casino or some other great thing. They can’t all be the biggest or best or have the loosest slots. So beware of the marketing messages these casinos publish.

1- Barona Valley Ranch Casino

Located at 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside, California, Barona Resort and Casino claims the title of San Diego’s loosest slots, as awarded by the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper. The awards are supposedly voted on by the public, but I don’t know how accurate the claim might be. But it makes for an excellent advertising slogan.

Barona Valley Ranch Casino has 2,200 slot machines.

2- Casino Pauma

Located at 777 Pauma Reservation Road in Pauma Valley, California, Casino Pauma also claims they’ve been voted as the loosest slots in Southern California. The award comes from the Southern California Gaming Guide.

Casino Pauma has 1,000 slot machines.

3- Jamul Casino

Located at 14145 Campo Road in Jamul, California, Jamul Casino claims to be San Diego’s closest and newest casino.

Jamul Casino has 1,600 slot machines.

4- Golden Acorn Casino and Travel Center

Located at 1800 Golden Acorn Way in Campo, California, Golden Acorn Casino and Travel Center lists gas and diesel prices at the top of the main page of their site. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like this in decades visiting online casino sites.

Golden Acorn Casino and Travel Center has 350 slot machines.

5- Harrah’s Resort Southern California

Located at 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way in Funner, California, Harrah’s Resort Southern California is San Diego’s casino from the vast Caesars gambling empire.

Harrah’s Resort Southern California has 1,500 slot machines.

6- Pala Casino

Located at 35008 Pala Temecula Road in Pala, California, Pala Casino claims to be Southern California’s entertainment capital.

Pala Casino has 1,980 slot machines.

7- Pechanga Casino

Located t 45000 Pechanga Parkway in Temecula, California, Pechanga Casino claims to be the perfect combination of casino, resort, and entertainment and the best casino in the wet and California.

Pechanga Casino has 5,400 slot machines.

8- Sycuan Casino

Located at 5469 Casino Way in El Cajon, California, Sycuan Casino claims to be San Diego’s hometown casino.

Sycuan Casino has 2,300 slot machines.

9- Valley View Casino

Located t 16300 Nyemii Pass Road in Valley Center, California, Valley View Casino also claims to have San Diego’s loosest slots. If you’re starting to think that any casino can come up with a way to say they have the loosest slots in an area, you might be right. At least three of the casinos in and around San Diego lay claim to the loosest slots. Don’t believe every marketing message you read.

Valley View Casino has 2,000 slot machines.

10- Viejas Casino

Located at 5000 Willows Road in Alpine, California, Viejas Casino claims to be the best casino in San Diego for over 31 years.

Viejas Casino has 2,500 slot machines.

Conclusion

The loosest slots in San Diego in 2023 are high denomination slot machines. If you can afford to play $5 denomination slots in San Diego, they’re your best bet. But $1 denomination machines are fairly loose too, so they’re your second best bet.

Every San Diego market slots casino in 2023 is a tribal casino. That’s not good or bad, but it makes identifying the loosest slots challenging. Stick with the high denomination slots and you have the best chance to play loose slots in 2023.