The Number You Are Looking For Is Not Published as a Single Statewide Total
A reader searching for a statewide slot machine count is usually planning a trip, comparing markets, or trying to size up the industry. The honest starting point is that no single public figure states a total number of slot machines across all of South Dakota. What exists instead is a documented list of venues, a regulator that licenses and inspects devices, and a set of reasons why any total would be unstable from one month to the next.
The published list documents 31 venues in South Dakota. That figure is a snapshot from a publicly edited reference list, not a regulator licence count and not a complete current list. The authoritative current count of venues, and of the machines inside them, sits with the South Dakota Commission on Gaming. This article explains what the documented landscape looks like, why machine counts are not aggregated in one place, and how a reader can assemble the current number themselves.
What the Documented Venue List Shows
The published list documents 31 venues across 10 distinct cities and areas. Deadwood dominates the list, with 22 documented venues. The remaining documented venues are spread across Sisseton, north of Watertown, east of Pickstown, Lower Brule, west of Mobridge, and Fort Thompson, among others.
Nine of the documented venues are classified as Native American. The other 22 are unclassified in the list, meaning the list does not attach a type label to them. This matters because slot machine counts, where they exist at all, are reported per venue or per operator, not per state.
| City or Area | Documented Venues | Measurement Type |
|---|---|---|
| Deadwood | 22 | Venue count from published list |
| Sisseton | 1 | Venue count from published list |
| North of Watertown | 1 | Venue count from published list |
| East of Pickstown | 1 | Venue count from published list |
| Lower Brule | 1 | Venue count from published list |
| West of Mobridge | 1 | Venue count from published list |
The list also gives coordinates for two documented cities. Deadwood sits at 44.38694444 north, 103.72083333 west. Fort Thompson sits at 44.05277778 north, 99.41333333 west. Coordinates are useful for measuring straight-line distances, but they tell you nothing about how many machines sit on a given floor.
Why a Statewide Slot Machine Total Is Hard to Pin Down
Even if every venue published a machine count, the total would change frequently. Machines are added, removed, moved between properties, and taken out of service for maintenance or replacement. A count published in January is not the count in June.
There is also a definitional problem. A slot machine can mean a traditional reel-spinning device, a video poker terminal, an electronic table game, or a hybrid machine that shares a jackpot across multiple seats. Different operators count these differently. Some report only Class III-style devices; others include electronic pull-tab or bingo-based machines that look and play like slots but are classified differently under tribal-state compacts.
Because the published list does not include per-venue machine counts, no number in this article can state how many slot machines operate in South Dakota. Any article that gives you a single figure without naming the regulator and the as-of date is giving you a guess dressed as a fact.
Where the Current Count Lives
The South Dakota Commission on Gaming is the body that licenses and inspects gaming devices in the state. For Deadwood and other commercial venues, the commission maintains device-level records. For tribal venues, the count is governed by the terms of each tribal-state compact, and the tribe itself may publish its own figures.
A reader who needs the current number should do three things. First, check the commission's published reports and device counts, which are updated on a schedule the commission sets. Second, check each tribal operator's own public disclosures, because tribal venues are not always included in a single state aggregate. Third, ask the venue directly if a single property's count is what matters for a trip.
How to Measure Distance Without a Machine Count
If the question behind the question is "how far am I from the slots," the answer is a measurement problem, not a counting problem. The documented coordinates for Deadwood and Fort Thompson allow straight-line distance calculations, but this article does not publish road mileage or driving times. Road distance is always longer than straight-line distance, and the route depends on where the reader starts.
For a reader in an unspecified location, no distance can be stated. The correct move is to take the venue's documented city, plot it against your own position on a map, and measure the road route yourself. The straight-line figure only tells you whether the venue is close enough to consider driving.
What to Confirm Before You Go
Before travelling to any South Dakota casino, confirm the items that change without notice. The venue's own website or guest services line holds the current answer for each of these. Do not rely on a third-party list for anything that affects your wallet or your schedule.
- The current machine count, if the venue publishes one, and whether it includes electronic table games.
- Operating hours for the gaming floor, which are not published in any stable form in this article.
- Whether the venue is on tribal land, because that changes which regulator's rules apply to the devices.
- Any entry, parking, or resort fee that applies on the day you visit.
- Whether the venue is undergoing renovation, which can temporarily reduce the number of machines on the floor.
Why Different Sources Give Different Numbers
One source may say South Dakota has 31 casinos, another may say 20, and a third may say 40. None of them is necessarily lying. They are counting different things. A commercial licence list counts only Deadwood-style venues. A tribal list counts only Native American operations. A travel site may count any building with a gaming floor, including truck stops with a few machines.
The published list this article draws from documents 31 venues, but that list is a snapshot, not a census. The South Dakota Commission on Gaming is the authoritative source for the current licensed venue count, and the commission's own publications should be treated as the final word for any regulatory question.
FAQ
How many slot machines are in South Dakota right now?
No single published statewide total exists in the source material for this article. The published list documents 31 venues, but it does not include per-venue machine counts. The South Dakota Commission on Gaming holds the current device-level records, and tribal operators publish their own figures separately. Any single number you see without an as-of date and a named source is unreliable.
Does Deadwood have more slot machines than the tribal casinos?
The published list documents 22 venues in Deadwood and 9 Native American venues statewide, but venue count is not machine count. A single large tribal property can hold more machines than several small Deadwood halls combined. Without per-venue machine figures, no comparison is possible from the documented material.
Why can't you just add up the machines from the venue list?
Because the list does not contain machine counts for any venue. It documents venue names, cities, and types. Machine counts are held by the regulator and by individual operators, and they change as devices are added, removed, or reclassified. Adding up venue counts would produce a number that looks precise but measures the wrong thing.
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