Las Vegas is the location of dreams for anyone who enjoys playing casino games. The plethora of venues that exist on The Strip provides a variety of options for gaming fans to select from. It’s not only the average, everyday person who visits Vegas' world-famous brick-and-mortar casinos, either. Celebrities have also been witnessed playing games inside the top venues.

It’s not always plain sailing for celebrities who love gambling, though. There have been a few instances where they have been thrown out of one or more establishments and subsequently banned from casinos.

That’s why we thought we would put together a list of seven celebrities banned from Las Vegas casinos. These stars won’t be seen again at the popular gambling haunts on The Strip.

Mikki Mase

Mikki Mase also goes by the name of Dirty Goth Boi on Instagram. He’s an entrepreneur, business owner and professional gambler, having a particular love for poker. His real name is Michael David Meiterman, and he made his fortune in the pharmaceutical world. Mase then sold off his businesses and began on his path of professional gambling.

He is also one of the most famous gamblers active on social media, with Instagram being his main app.

Upon retiring from the pharmacy industry in his mid-20s, Mase was living in Los Angeles, and it was from there that he started making regular trips to Las Vegas for gambling purposes. He claims that at one point, he was winning between $20,000 and $50,000 per trip, and that hooked him to gambling for life.

He started out playing blackjack and then switched to baccarat, winning up to $300,000 per trip. Mase claims that it is because of the massive winnings he achieved in Vegas that he was banned from returning. He a member of a short list of baccarat players banned in the history of Las Vegas. But he didn’t let this stop him. He began gambling in Los Angeles instead, accessing live online casinos and private games.

Archie Karas

Anargyros Karabourniotis, better known by the name Archie Karas, is a legendary gambler. Between 1992 and 1994, reports suggest that he turned $50 into over $40 million during "The Run", as it has become known. He defeated some of the best in the poker world during that time, such as Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, and Stu Ungar.

So prolific was the run of Karas that it has been documented by several poker news outlets. He ended up losing everything back over the next two years, though.

Almost two decades later, his fall from grace grew even more intense, as he was placed on the list of Nevada’s Excluded Persons. A vote by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) members produced a unanimous decision to have his name as the 33rd added to the list. Should he show up at a casino in Vegas, he would face criminal charges.

In an interesting turn of events linked to casino ban lists, NGC discusses a bill proposing poker cheaters receive a lifetime ban from Las Vegas casinos.

Archie Karas was added to the list for several transgressions, including alleged cheating at blackjack at the Barona Casino, which he was found guilty of in 2014. He had also been arrested four times in Nevada since 1988, prior to that for cheating.

Paris Hilton

Everyone knows Paris Hilton – but likely for negative reasons. The socialite and businesswoman has had a lifestyle featuring partying and gambling aplenty within high-class casinos. She even had a notable win of $30,000 at a Vegas casino when playing blackjack.

In 2010, Hilton was banned from entering the Wynn Las Vegas venue. Why? Because she was suspected of carrying cocaine in her purse. She did later plead guilty to the charges, agreeing to pay $2,000 in fines and complete 200 hours of community service. Her ban was lifted 15 months later.

Ben Affleck

We all know that Ben Affleck has an affection for gambling, with a particular love for blackjack and poker. In 2014, he visited the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Vegas, and it is there that his luck would dissipate.

Affleck was enjoying a few rounds of blackjack at the casino, seated at a table reserved for high rollers. It was after this stint that he was asked to leave the Hard Rock Casino and was then banned after the establishment accused him of counting cards.

Vince Neil

The lead vocalist of the metal band Mötley Crüe has probably had quite the destructive and outrageous career. Doubtless, that has spilled over into his everyday life at times, too. He has been the owner of a ban from the Las Vegas Palms resort and casino since 2012. Yet this was nothing to do with doing anything illegal or crazy.

Neil composed and posted a series of Tweets with reviews about the Las Vegas Palms, with his first criticism being of the employees at the Little Buddha restaurant within. The following week, he published a Tweet urging his fans not to go to the casino and resort, and he said he refuses to go there again.

The management team said that Neil had displayed terrible behaviour while in the restaurant, which was why he was expelled. Because of this, and the posts from him on Twitter, Neil is forbidden to appear on the casino territory.

Dana White

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) wouldn’t be what it is today without the efforts of President Dana White. Yet not only does he have the skill to find talented UFC fighters, but he is a skilled gambler as well. He once cashed in $7 million in a single night while playing blackjack. He also likes to wager large amounts on sports.

White ended up banned from the Palms Casino on two separate occasions due to his large wins while playing blackjack. The first ban came in 2012, as management expressed concern over his winning ways. He returned in 2014, cashed in more than $2 million, and was then banned for a second time.

Colby Covington

It’s not only the president of the UFC who enjoys gambling either, it seems. Welterweight fighter Colby Covington visited The Strip in March of 2019. He didn’t cheat at the games. He didn’t win too much. Instead, Covington was banned for...fighting!

Who would have thought a UFC fighter could be capable of it? Well, indeed he is, and he proved that when Covington ended up tackling fellow UFC fighter Kamaru Usman and his security. That occurred at the buffet table in the Palms Casino resort.

According to Covington, he had asked Usman and his security guard to wait until he had picked himself some crab legs at the buffet. He suggested that the two proceeded to provoke him into a fight. Regardless, he was immediately asked to leave once the fight was broken up. Covington was also informed he would not be allowed to return at any point to the Palms Casino.

Final Thoughts

Las Vegas, the world-renowned hub for gambling, has seen its fair share of celebrities trying their luck at its casinos. While many enjoy the thrill without incident, a select few have found themselves on the wrong side of the casino's rules.

From high-profile gamblers banned due to their massive winnings and alleged cheating to celebrities who faced bans for reasons ranging from drug possession to card counting and brawls. These incidents serve as a reminder that fame and fortune don't always grant immunity from the rules and regulations of the casino world.