Loosest Slots in South Dakota (2023 Casinos and Slot Machines)

South Dakota isn’t known as a gambling leader in the United States. But there are several casinos in the state. So, you need to know how to find the loosest slots in South Dakota.

$1 denomination slot machines are the loosest slots in South Dakota.

You can play slots in commercial casinos in the Deadwood, SD area. And you can play slots in the various Indian tribe casinos in the state. This post covers slots in both commercial and tribal casinos in South Dakota.

I also share information about the tightest slots games in South Dakota and include links to the state reports detailing slot machine returns.

How to Find the Loosest Slot Machines in South Dakota

Here’s how to find the loosest slot machines in South Dakota:

You can use three different methods when you’re looking for loose slot machines. I cover all three methods in this section.

1 – Individual Slot Machine Returns

If you know the return for individual slot machines, you know which machines are loose and which machines are tight. But the return percentages for individual slots games are hard to find. And in many cases, these numbers are impossible to find.

2 – State Gambling Reports

South Dakota releases gambling reports every month and every year. These reports include returns for slot machines.

On the good side, these reports help you identify slots that might be loose. But on the bad side, the reports don’t break slots down by individual machine. They only break them down by denomination. And the reports only cover commercial casinos. They don’t include statistics for tribal casinos. See the section covering state reporting below to learn more.

3 – Trial and Error and Tracking

Most slots players use trial and error. They play different machines and hope they find a loose machine. But if you don’t track your results, you might miss out on a loose machine.

Play for 5 to 10 minutes each on several slot machines. Record how much you win or lose on each machine. Go back to play the best machines and keep tracking your results.

Loosest Slots in Commercial South Dakota Casinos

You can learn which slots are the loosest in commercial South Dakota casinos using the statistics released by the state gambling commission. I include links to the state numbers later in this post so you can look at them.

$1 denomination slots are the loosest in South Dakota casinos. But not every $1 denomination slots game offers loose pay outs.

You don’t have return details for individual slots games in South Dakota. The only numbers available are by denomination. And the state numbers show the loosest slots category in $1 denomination machines.

But you have to understand how the categories work. The numbers by slot denomination category are an average.

The state numbers show there are 255 $1 denomination slot machines in commercial casinos in South Dakota. And the return numbers are the average of all 255 machines.

So, some $1 denomination slot machines have higher returns and some have lower returns. In other words, there are some tight $1 denomination slots and there are some loose $1 denomination slots.

If you play slots in Deadwood, SD, you’re playing in a commercial casino. If you play slots in any other part of South Dakota, you’re playing in a tribal casino. I cover how to find the loosest slots in tribal casinos in South Dakota in the next section.

Loosest Slots in Tribal South Dakota Casinos

I’m going to give you all of the information I have about playing slot machines in South Dakota tribal casinos. But first I need to give you a sad truth. Nobody knows the loosest slots in tribal South Dakota casinos.

The loosest slots in tribal South Dakota casinos are probably $1 denomination slot machines. Here’s why I have to use the word probably instead of giving you an answer based on hard numbers and facts.

In another section of this post, I cover the slot statistics the state provides. But those statistics don’t include anything from the tribal casinos in the state. They just cover the commercial casinos in Deadwood.

While the slots returns could theoretically be better in Indian casinos, I doubt they are. Because the tribal slots numbers aren’t released to the public, they’re probably worse than the return in commercial casinos.

If you’re visiting a tribal South Dakota casino, I recommend the $1 denomination slot machines. But keep in mind that it’s just a guess because nobody knows which slots are the loosest for sure.

I do know what the worst slot machines are in tribal casinos in South Dakota. I cover them in the next section.

Worst Slot Machines in South Dakota

The worst slot machines in South Dakota are the same slots games that are the worst everywhere else. And it doesn’t matter if you’re playing in a tribal or commercial casino.

Penny slot machines are the worst or tightest slots in South Dakota.

When I say penny slots, I’m talking about denominations. You usually can’t play any slot machine for a single penny. But penny slots use a penny as the base denomination.

Penny slots are the most common denomination in South Dakota. The state reports show there are over 2,000 penny slots games in Deadwood. And the Indian casinos also have a lot of penny slots games.

South Dakota State Slot Machine Reports

I’ve mentioned the South Dakota slot machine reports a few times. In this section, I’m going to give you links to the reports so you can access the most up to date reports when you read this post.

Follow this link to access the South Dakota Commission on Gaming site. You can find the most recent annual South Dakota gaming report here. And here’s a link to the most recent monthly state report when I wrote this post. Finally, here’s a link to the page where all of the reports are listed.

Where to Play Slots in South Dakota

The majority of casinos in South Dakota are in Deadwood. All the casinos in Deadwood are commercial casinos. But there are also a few tribal casinos in other parts of the state.

In the next two sections, I list where to play slots in South Dakota.

In the section covering Indian tribal casinos in South Dakota, I include the county where you can find each casino. I also include either the city location of the casino or the closest city to the casino.

At the end of the day, there aren’t many differences between tribal casinos and commercial casinos in South Dakota for slots players. You’re going to find the same popular slot machines in both, and the overall returns are going to be similar.

I lean slightly toward playing slots n commercial casinos over tribal casinos, but I don’t have hard facts to back up why I feel this way. Tribal casino slots statistics aren’t reported by states, so I think these casinos can get away with offering lower overall returns.

But when you play the same slot machines in tribal casinos and commercial casinos, your returns should be the same overall.

Indian Tribal Casinos in South Dakota

Here’s a list of Indian tribal casinos in South Dakota:

• Dakota Connection Casino in Sisseton, Roberts County
• Dakota Sioux Casino and Hotel in Watertown, Codington County
• Fort Randall Casino and Hotel in Pickstown, Charles Mix County
• Golden Buffalo Casino and Hotel in Lower Brule, Lyman County
• Grand River Casino and Resort in Mobridge, Corson County
• Lode Star Casino and Hotel in Fort Thompson, Buffalo County
• Prairie Wind Casino and Hotel in Oglala, Oglala Lakota County
• Rosebud Casino and Quality Inn Rosebud Casino in Mission, Todd County
• Royal River Casino and Hotel in Flandreau, Moody County

Casinos in Deadwood, South Dakota

I recently completed a post about the loosest slots in Deadwood, South Dakota. It makes a good companion piece to this page. And it includes a complete list of casinos in Deadwood. The post I just linked to has every Deadwood casino listed, so I’m not going to list them all here.

Here’s a list of some of the popular casinos in Deadwood, SD.

• Cadillac Jack’s
• Deadwood Gulch
• Gold Dust
• Hickok’s
• Iron Horse
• Mustang Sally’s
• Old Saloon no 10
• Silverado
• Wooden Nickel

Conclusion

I recommend playing $1 denomination slots in South Dakota. They’re the loosest slots in the state. But don’t forget that some $1 denomination slots games are looser than others.

If you’re in the Deadwood, SD area, play in one of the commercial casinos there. But if you’re in a different part of the state, you can play in one of the tribal casinos owned by Indians.

I prefer commercial casino slots because the returns are posted to the state commission site. But the slot machines are pretty much the same whether you’re playing in a commercial or Indian casino in South Dakota.