Nevada casino players are about to see the fine print catch up with the coin shortage. State gaming regulators on Friday gave casinos a formal playbook for what happens when payouts require pennies that simply are not available, clearing the way for small rounding adjustments and even giving players the option to donate their leftover change.
What regulators told casinos
According to Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Nevada Gaming Control Board's industry memo lets casinos round cash payouts to the nearest five-cent increment or, in limited cases, round down on totals ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents. What they cannot do is adopt a pattern that consistently shortchanges patrons.
The notice requires every property to spell out its penny-payout rules and to apply them the same way for all customers. Casinos can explain their policies through signage, on-screen messages at kiosks and other notices so players know how their tickets will be paid before they hit "redeem."
Why the change is happening
The shift tracks back to the U.S. Treasury's decision to stop minting pennies, a process that wrapped with the Mint's final regular production runs in November 2025 and left existing inventories to slowly dwindle. Per the U.S. Treasury, pennies are still legal tender, but routine production ended because it cost more to make the coin than the coin is worth.
Policy groups and many state lawmakers have pushed for what they call symmetrical rounding, in other words rounding both up and down to the nearest nickel as purchases or payouts land above or below the halfway mark. That is the basic model the National Conference of State Legislatures recommends as the fairest approach.
How casinos will handle payouts
Casinos are now turning the memo into day-to-day procedures at cages and kiosks. An MGM Resorts example cited in local reporting has a $2.01 ticket paying out as $2.05, while $2.06 would be redeemed as $2.10. MGM told reporters that if pennies are not available, amounts owed to players would be rounded up to the nearest nickel or dime, and the company said digital and credit card payouts are not affected.
Wynn, for its part, told the industry it still has plenty of pennies on hand. If that changes, the company said its properties could issue a ticket-in, ticket-out voucher for the leftover penny amount or offer to route the stray cents to a charitable donation at the customer's direction. Those company details were reported by Las Vegas Review-Journal.
What this means for players
For most visitors, the impact shows up as small, occasional rounding differences at redemption kiosks or retail points of sale on the casino floor. Players who want every last cent can still head to the cage and request exact pennies, at least while supplies last in the drawer.
Regulators have explicitly allowed properties to post their rounding rules at the places where tickets are redeemed so customers can see the policy before they cash out. Across the United States, state lawmakers and agencies are rolling out their own rounding guidance or legislation, creating a patchwork of state-level rules. For a national look at how states are responding, see PBS NewsHour.
Bottom line
Expect fresh signage at kiosks and cage windows spelling out each casino's penny policy, and do not hesitate to ask a cage attendant if you prefer exact change. If you want to skip the rounding entirely, stick with card or digital payouts, which operators say will not be rounded. For now, it pays to read the posted rules while casinos and regulators sort out the finer points of life without the penny.
