By the PokerHands.Shop Editorial Team · Reviewed: August 21, 2026
Las Vegas poker rooms make their money the same way: a rake taken from each cash-game pot, capped at a fixed amount, sometimes with an extra dollar or three dropped for promotional jackpots. What differs between rooms is the cap, the drop, and what you get back in hourly comps. Those differences look small on paper and add up fast over a session.
The table below shows the current listed rake and comp rates for the lowest no-limit hold'em game at eight major Las Vegas rooms, checked against each room's PokerAtlas listing on August 21, 2026. Room fees change without notice, so treat this as a comparison snapshot and confirm at the podium before you play. New to the concept entirely? Start with our guide to how poker rake works, then come back for the numbers.
Las Vegas Poker Room Rake Comparison
| Room | Game | House rake | Promo drop | Comps | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wynn | $1/$3 NLHE | Staggered, up to $5 | None listed | $1.50/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
| ARIA | $1/$3 NLHE | 10% up to $6 | None listed | $2/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
| Bellagio | $1/$3 NLHE | 10% up to $6 | None listed | $2/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
| Venetian | $1/$3 NLHE | 10% up to $5 | $2 jackpot | $2/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
| Horseshoe | $1/$3 NLHE | 10% up to $6 | $2 jackpot | $1/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
| The Orleans | $1/$3 NLHE | 10% up to $5 | $3 jackpot | $1.25/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
| South Point | $1/$2 NLHE | 10% up to $5 | $3 jackpot | $1.50/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
| MGM Grand | $1/$3 NLHE | Staggered, up to $6 | $1 (+$1 at $20 pots) | $2/hr | Aug 21, 2026 |
Rates shown for each room's lowest no-limit hold'em game; higher-stakes games can differ. Every listing above except Wynn's explicitly specifies "no flop, no drop" — no rake is taken if the hand ends before the flop. Source: PokerAtlas per-game listings.
Which Vegas Poker Room Has the Lowest Rake?
Based on the listed caps, Wynn has the lowest maximum per-pot cost in this group: a staggered rake topping out at $5, with no separate promotional drop listed. ARIA and Bellagio take up to $6 per pot but also list no additional drop. At the other end, rooms that combine a rake cap with a jackpot drop can reach $7 to $8 total from a single pot: The Orleans and South Point ($5 cap plus $3 drop), Horseshoe ($6 plus $2), and MGM Grand ($6 plus $2 once the pot reaches $20).
The drop money isn't lost in the same way rake is — it funds high-hand bonuses and jackpots paid back to players — but it comes out of pots either way, and you shouldn't count on getting your share back.
Are Higher-Rake Games Always Worse?
No, and this matters more than the dollar differences above. Rake is a fixed cost; the quality of your opponents determines your win rate. A $1/$3 game full of tourists at a $6-cap room can easily be more profitable than a $5-cap game full of patient regulars. The rake comparison matters most between rooms with similar player pools, when you're deciding between two otherwise equal games, and at the smallest stakes, where a fixed cap is a bigger share of every pot. If you're winning in a soft game, don't leave over a dollar of rake.
What Are Poker Room Comps?
Every room in the table pays hourly comps: rack up hours with your player's card registered at the table, and the casino credits your account with dollars for food, drinks or hotel spend. In this group the rates run from $1/hr at Horseshoe to $2/hr at ARIA, Bellagio, Venetian and MGM Grand. It's not much — a long session buys you a meal — but it's the live-poker equivalent of getting a small slice of the rake back, so register your card. Note that this is a different thing from online poker rakeback and VIP schemes, which we cover in our poker loyalty programs guide.
How We Verify These Rates
Every figure in the table comes from the room's current PokerAtlas per-game listing, checked on the date shown in the last column. Where a listing doesn't state a value, we write "none listed" rather than guessing. Before a session, the definitive source is always the room itself: ask at the podium, or check the room's own site or app. If you spot a rate that's changed, the rooms update PokerAtlas fairly quickly and we re-verify this table on a schedule.
Planning your first session? Our first-time Las Vegas poker guide covers everything from the waitlist to cashing out, the etiquette guide keeps you from paying any tuition beyond the rake, and when rake is only one factor in the decision, compare the Las Vegas poker rooms side by side.