Wizard of Vegas

What Wizard of Vegas does

Wizard of Vegas (WizardOfVegas.com) is a privately owned informational website launched on November 9, 2009 by Michael Shackleford ("the Wizard of Odds") as a Las Vegas-focused spinoff of his established WizardOfOdds.com casino-odds property. The site functions as a long-form travel guide covering Las Vegas casinos, hotels, shows, and gambling strategy, with the bulk of its engagement generated by a community forum that has accumulated more than 980,000 posts across 42,000+ threads and 29,000+ registered members since launch. Content is organized into articles, hotel and show reviews, gambling guides, free-play browser casino game simulators (baccarat, blackjack, craps, video poker with 12+ variants, pai gow, and others), video tutorials, and an opt-in weekly newsletter.

The product surface is differentiated by a layer of original primary research: in-person casino surveys covering baccarat, blackjack, craps, roulette, poker variants, sportsbook, video keno, and video poker across approximately 100 Las Vegas casinos, plus a proprietary progressive slot jackpot tracker monitoring 23 US/Canada jackpots with $359M+ in cumulative tracked payouts since April 2017. The underlying technology is a custom PHP/MySQL content and forum platform with integrated interactive game simulators featuring editable paytables, auto-hold warnings, statistics tracking, and Facebook-based single sign-on for member profiles. No public API, SDK, or AI/ML features are offered; the offering is deterministic, content-driven, and built on 16 years of accumulated editorial and survey data.

The business model is freemium: all articles, guides, surveys, simulators, and forum access are free to consumers, with revenue generated indirectly via affiliate referral links to recommended online casinos, a ticket-purchase affiliate partnership with showtickets.com, and newsletter sponsorship. Wizard of Vegas operates under the LCB (Latest Casino Bonuses) Network per its Terms and Conditions, shares its owner-operator base with sister sites WizardOfOdds.com, WizardOfMacau.com, and LasApuestas.mx, and serves a primary audience of Las Vegas tourists and recreational gamblers alongside secondary segments of advantage players, gaming-industry observers, and out-of-Vegas / online casino users.

Name

Wizard of Vegas

Legal name

WizardofVegas.com (LCB Network)

Website

https://wizardofvegas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wizard of Vegas is a privately owned informational website (founded 2009) that publishes Las Vegas casino and travel guides, gaming surveys, free-play casino simulators, and hosts a 29,000-member gambling forum, monetizing via affiliate referrals to online casinos and show tickets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Las Vegas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Affiliate links to recommended online casinos: The homepage and game pages prominently feature a "Recommended Online Casinos" block with links to operator partners, generating referral/affiliate commissions when readers sign up and play.
2. Show ticket affiliate revenue: Affiliated ticket-purchase link (affiliate ID st2551dc) routes users to lasvegas.showtickets.com for Las Vegas show tickets.
3. Newsletter sponsorship: Opt-in weekly email newsletter ("promotions and news") provides a recurring owned-audience channel for sponsor/affiliate placements, subject to terms requiring users be 18+.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Wizard of Vegas is a free informational website and travel guide focused on Las Vegas gambling and tourism. It publishes articles, strategy guides, hotel and show reviews, in-person casino game surveys, a live progressive jackpot tracker, free-play browser-based casino game simulators, and a moderated community forum. All content is free to consumers; revenue is generated via affiliate referrals to recommended online casinos and Las Vegas show-ticket partners, plus newsletter sponsorship.

Product overview

Wizard of Vegas is a single integrated informational website (not a modular platform) launched in 2009 as an Las Vegas-focused spinoff of WizardOfOdds.com. It combines editorial content (Articles, Gambling Guides, Show Reviews, Hotel Reviews, Videos) with interactive features (Free Games including 12+ playable casino simulations, Jackpots Tracker monitoring 23 progressive slot pools) and original research (Gaming Surveys covering baccarat, blackjack, craps, roulette, poker variants, sportsbook, video keno, and video poker). The community Forums serve as the central engagement hub with over 980,000 posts, complemented by Trails, Blogs, and an RSS feed. Sister sites WizardOfOdds.com, WizardOfMacau.com, and LasApuestas.mx extend the network beyond Las Vegas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Articles (General and Sports) Long-form editorial articles covering casino strategy, gambling news, sports betting, online casino trends, and Las Vegas tourism topics for consumers researching Las Vegas and gambling. Includes a dedicated general articles section and a separate sports articles section.
• Hotel Reviews Reviews of Las Vegas hotels and casinos with detailed coverage of gaming floors, accommodations, and amenities, intended for travelers planning a Las Vegas trip.
• Forums User community discussion forum covering gambling, Las Vegas attractions, sports betting, table games, video poker, slots, trip reports, gaming business, and off-topic topics. Contains 980,000+ posts across 42,000+ threads and 29,000+ registered members.
• Free Games (Casino Game Simulators) Free-to-play browser-based casino game simulations including 3X Raise Hold'em, All In Hold'em, Atkins Diet, Australian Reels, Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Mississippi Stud, Pai Gow, Pai Gow Poker, and Video Poker (with 12 video poker variants). The video poker simulator includes editable paytables, speed control, statistics tracking, auto-hold warnings, keyboard shortcuts, and a 1,000-coin reloadable balance.
• Jackpots Tracker Live tracker monitoring 23 progressive slot machine jackpots at land casinos across the United States and Canada, including Megabucks, Wheel of Fortune, Powerbucks, Money Madness, Money Mania and Ultra Link variants. Tracks current values, charts, and a total paid-out history (612 wins recorded and $359,184,999 cumulative tracked payouts since April 2017).
• Gaming Surveys Field-researched casino-by-casino surveys documenting rules, limits, payouts, and odds for Baccarat (2017-02-28), Poker Variants (2017-02-27), Video Poker (2017-02-24, covering 69 casinos with letter grades), Roulette (2017-02-14), Craps (2018-07-22), Sportsbook (2020-10-20), and Blackjack (updated 2025-01-14), plus Miscellaneous Games and Video Keno surveys, across Las Vegas casinos to identify best odds for game selection.
• Gambling Guides Strategy and how-to guides for major casino games including Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, and No Deposit Coupon Codes for online casinos, intended for consumers learning how to play and how to play optimally.
• Videos Video reviews and tutorials including strategy tests like the Keefer Roulette System and Martingale Betting System reviews, plus miscellaneous Las Vegas advice from the Wizard of Odds, hosted on the site and shareable via Twitter.
• Show Reviews Reviews of Las Vegas shows and entertainment including current productions like Tenors of Rock, Dancing Queen, and CSI -- The Experience, with integrated ticket purchasing via showtickets.com.
• Trails and Blogs Personal trip trails and member blog posts contributed by community members documenting their Las Vegas and gambling experiences, complementing the main forum with user-generated trip-report content.

Quantifiable outcome

• 980,463+ forum posts accumulated since 2009
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Wizard of Odds (wizardofodds.com)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerWizard of Vegas is explicitly described as a spinoff of WizardOfOdds.com, sharing the same owner and primary writer, Michael Shackleford ("the Wizard"). The two sites cross-reference each other extensively (sportsbook family data is maintained at Wizard of Odds; game-odds references link back to Wizard of Odds).
• Wizard of Macau (wizardofmacau.com)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister site operated by Michael Shackleford; linked from the Wizard of Vegas footer under "My other sites".
• Las Apuestas (lasapuestas.mx)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpanish-language sister site operated by Michael Shackleford; linked from the Wizard of Vegas footer under "My other sites".
• LCB Network (lcb.org)coreTechnology or IntegrationTerms and Conditions define "we/us" as both WizardofVegas.com and the LCB Network, indicating Wizard of Vegas operates as part of the LCB (Latest Casino Bonuses) network and shares user/forum infrastructure with it.
• Showtickets.com (lasvegas.showtickets.com)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerLas Vegas show-ticket affiliate partner linked from the Shows pages with affiliate ID st2551dc, generating ticket-purchase referrals for reviewed shows.
• GamCareminorOthersResponsible-gambling charity logo displayed in the site footer with a hyperlink to gamcare.org.uk, indicating formal affiliation or accreditation for responsible-gambling messaging.
• GambleAwareminorOthersResponsible-gambling organization logo displayed in the site footer with a hyperlink to gambleaware.org.
• Gambling TherapyminorOthersResponsible-gambling support organization logo displayed in the site footer with a hyperlink to gamblingtherapy.org.
• Facebook (Graph API)coreTechnology or IntegrationWizard of Vegas uses Facebook's Graph API (graph.facebook.com) to retrieve member profile pictures (e.g., the zbrownson profile image is fetched via this integration).

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CasinoListings.com: Online casino information and progressive jackpot tracker site credited as a data source for Wizard of Vegas's jackpots page. Comparable on the online-casino review and jackpot-tracking side, though with much less Las Vegas land-casino content.
• LatestCasinoBonuses (LCB Network): Operating partner identified in Wizard of Vegas's Terms & Conditions as jointly representing the operating entity. Operates a comparable casino-bonuses/community platform with affiliate referral economics, shared user accounts and forum infrastructure — essentially the parent network for Wizard of Vegas.
• Wizard of Odds: Original casino-odds information site founded and operated by Michael Shackleford; Wizard of Vegas is explicitly a Las Vegas-focused spinoff sharing the same owner and primary writer, with mutual cross-linking and shared sportsbook data. Directly comparable in niche, monetization approach and editorial voice.
• VegasSlotsOnline: Slot-machine and casino game information site with free-play games and casino affiliate monetization. Comparable niche (slots/video poker odds, game simulators) and a similar free-content-plus-affiliate model, though with a global rather than Las Vegas-centric focus.
• AskGamblers: Online casino review and affiliate site with a strong community/forum component and bonus-driven referral model. Directly comparable audience (recreational and advantage gamblers) and a similar mix of editorial content, user reviews and casino-operator affiliate monetization.
• VegasInsider: Las Vegas sports betting information and odds-comparison site. Comparable on the Las Vegas sportsbook coverage and odds-comparison data side of Wizard of Vegas, with a heavier emphasis on sports-betting lines and picks.
• Vegas.com: Major Las Vegas travel and entertainment booking site offering hotel, show and attraction reservations. Closely comparable on the Las Vegas travel-guide side of Wizard of Vegas's offering (hotels, shows, attractions), and uses a similar show-ticket and tour affiliate model.

Emerging players

• ThePOGG: Independent casino review and complaint-resolution site covering online casinos and bonuses. Overlaps with Wizard of Vegas's online-casino review content and community function but is smaller and more complaint-mediation focused.

Broad incumbents

• Gambling.com Group: Publicly traded gambling affiliate marketing company operating a portfolio of gambling-information and sports-betting sites. Comparable business model (content → affiliate conversion) and audience, but operates at significantly larger scale and geographic breadth.
• Casino.org: Large, established online casino information and affiliate site covering global iGaming markets. Comparable as a gambling-affiliate content business targeting similar recreational and serious gamblers, but operating at meaningfully greater scale across multiple jurisdictions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wizard of Vegas