Golden Nugget Casino (New Jersey) – Expert Review & Sign Up Bonuses
The Golden Nugget Online Casino rules the roost among NJ online casinos, and for good reason. It boasts the biggest selection of games from software providers with the most dazzling and immersive graphics and animations in the industry. What’s more the sign-up process is easy and comprehensive, and the bonus alluring.
- The best selection of games and video slots in the industry.
- Offerings from top-notch software providers, with industry-leading graphics and interface.
- Mobile-friendly with a dedicated mobile app.
- 24/7 chat support.
- Secure, stable, and reliable gaming platform
- The mobile app has a smaller selection of games.
- Lackluster VIP rewards.
- Inconsistent customer service.
- Short-term promos.
- Late to market.
Golden Nugget online casino NJ review
Highlights:
- Immersive Online Casino Experience. Golden Nugget may have been slow to launch when online gambling became legal in New Jersey, but the wait was worth it. Golden Nugget pulls out all the stops to recreate the thrill of putting your money on the line at New Jersey’s top-of-the-heap land-based casino … all the way down to the option of tipping the dealer if the spirit moves you!
- A Solid Welcome Bonus. New players receive an immediate $20 credit to their bankroll, no deposit required, when they enter a promo code at sign-up. The real star of the show, however, is the deposit-match bonus—Golden Nugget will match, dollar-for-dollar, the first $1,000 you pay into your online bankroll, starting you out with up to $1,000 of free money and $2,000 total to play with.
- Unparalleled Selection of Games. Golden Nugget breaks the scale by offering over 700 games from top software providers, including over 650 video slots, 14 live-dealer games, Bingo, Slingo, and eight lucrative jackpots. It also offers scratchcards, blackjack, poker, and virtual sports betting.
- Robust Mobile App Game Selection. While the selection is significantly reduced, the Golden Nugget mobile app still offers over 250 games, including mobile versions of popular slots.
Sign Up Process
We may never know what made Golden Nugget enter the NJ online casino market so late, but one might speculate that they put extra time into getting the UI and UX just right.
That’s because it is pretty flawless. Signing up for an account at this online casino is about as easy as it gets. The simple steps are as follows:
- Navigate to https://nj-casino.goldennuggetcasino.com/
- Click the “Sign Up” button in the upper-right corner of the website header.
- The sign-up form will appear as a pop-up browser window. Use this form to create your username and password and click “Next”.
- You will be prompted to enter identifying information, including your full name, sex, date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number (not the full number, in a nice touch). This information is used to verify that you are of legal age to gamble in New Jersey (21 or older). Click “Next”.
- Enter your mailing address and phone number, and set up security questions in case you get locked out of your account.
- If you have a bonus code (including the first-time-user no-deposit bonus code), enter it here and click “Next.”
- You will be prompted to check a box indicating that you agree to the Golden Nugget Online Casino Terms and Conditions. Check the box, and click “Register Details.”
That’s it! You’re done. If it’s your first time creating an account and you used the bonus code PLAY20, you will start with $20 in your bankroll to put a dent in the wagering requirements.
Ease of Use
Considering it’s a busy website with lots of games on offer, Golden Nugget Online Casino is very easy to navigate. Site navigation locations–including the sportsbook, live dealer games, banking, and bonuses–are easy to find in the top and side navigation bars, identified by helpful icons.
Of particular usefulness are the sorting tabs in the games section, which breaks down games by category, including: featured, blackjack, poker, slots, table games, new games, all games, etc. Clearly there’s some overlap between categories, but breaking it down in this way helps you find what you are looking for quickly. The graphical in-site scroll bar makes it easy to recognize that there are more categories than those that populate with the site on loading.
This blingy site loads quickly, both on the desktop and mobile browsers. The banking interface is easy to use too, with large “Deposit” and “Withdrawal” buttons right at the top and a breakdown of the available deposit methods and their various strengths and weaknesses.
In both its banking and management of sensitive customer records, Golden Nugget complies with strict data protection and handling requirements, as required by New Jersey law.
Deposit Options
You can deposit money legally into your Golden Nugget Online Casino account from anywhere in the world. However, certain payment processors have a tendency to reject such deposits, even if it’s for a legal activity like gambling in New Jersey. As such, Golden Nugget offers a variety of methods you can use to get your cash in the game…
- Play+ Prepaid Account. This dedicated prepaid gaming account is one of the most reliable ways to fund your bankroll. Load the account in advance using any Visa, MasterCard, or Discover card. You get a bonus $10 when you enroll, with no fees for enrollment or deposits and no monthly maintenance fees.
- VIP-Preferred eCheck. Another reliable way to fund your Golden Nugget account. Link an eligible checking account to a VIP account and make instant deposits to Golden Nugget.
- PayPal. The granddaddy of e-wallets is a safe, secure, and reliable way to put money into your Golden Nugget account using your personal PayPal balance or as a go-between for your credit card, debit card, or checking account. Players love PayPal and few casinos offer it–so thumbs up for Golden Nugget here!
- PayNearMe Cash Deposit at 7-11. Any 7-11 convenience store will have a PayNearMe terminal, which you can use to make cash deposits into your Golden Nugget bankroll. The money posts to your playing account within thirty minutes.
- Visa or MasterCard. Your Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card will fund your account immediately, though the issuing bank may impose additional costs and/or fees.
- Online Bank Transfer. Link your checking account directly, no payment card required.
- Cash at the Casino Cage. If you happen to be in Atlantic City, go to the cage at the Golden Nugget land-based casino and deposit cash into your online account.
- Safekeeping. If you have cash on deposit with Golden Nugget Atlantic City Safekeeping, you can transfer it to your online account quickly and painlessly.
- Wire Transfer. This old-school method of transferring money electronically via telephone lines takes several days to fund and incurs extra fees.
Withdrawal Options
You can get money out of your Golden Nugget Online Casino bankroll via any of the following methods. Note any limits imposed on the minimum or maximum withdrawal, as well as the withdrawal time, before choosing a method:
- Play+ Prepaid Account. This is the easiest and fastest way for the Golden Nugget Online Casino to pay you out — transfer funds directly to your Pay+ account. The money will be available instantly for you to deposit into another gaming account or initiate a withdrawal.
- VIP-Preferred eCheck. You can also withdraw your bankroll directly into your checking account within two business days if it is linked to a VIP-Preferred account.
- PayPal. Transfers of funds on deposit to your PayPal account can take up to 48 hours. Once it’s there, keep the funds in PayPal for future use, or withdraw them to your bank account in either one business day, or instantly for an extra fee.
- Check. Upon request, Golden Nugget Online Casino will mail you a check, provided that it meets the minimum and maximum requirement. Checks will arrive in 2-3 business days. Ask about any extra fees as it’s usual for casinos to levy these on checks.
- Cash at the Casino Cage. If you happen to be in Atlantic City, you can go to the cage at Golden Nugget Atlantic City land-based casino and withdraw cash instantly from your account.
- Safekeeping. You can also transfer funds to your Golden Nugget Safekeeping account if you have one.
- Wire Transfer. Wire transfers, again, are older, outdated, incur fees, and take 5-7 business days to process.
Popular Games
Golden Nugget Online Casino distinguishes itself with one of the largest selections of games of any online casino, in NJ or otherwise. It may take some time to walk you through these, so make a pot of coffee and put your feet up.
Slots
Golden Nugget Online Casino features a mind-boggling array of slots, with over 650 available for desktop gameplay. Moreover, Golden Nugget adds new slot games to its menu all the time.
With an outcome determined by the random number generating (RNG) software to ensure fair play, many video slots available at Golden Nugget Online feature lush animations. Note that the selection of slots is cut by more than half on the mobile platform.
You can find a number of popular licensed and branded video slots on the Golden Nugget Online Casino, including:
- Cleopatra
- Starburst
- Anchorman
- Wheel of Fortune
- Dungeons and Dragons
Golden Nugget Online Casino also boasts several progressive jackpot slots and a few exclusive slots too, including Cirque du Soleil Kooza, Golden Nugget Video Slots, Lucky Tree, and Triple Treasures.
Video Poker
Golden Nugget Online Casino offers sixteen options for video poker, all optimized for mobile gameplay so you can transition seamlessly from your desktop game to mobile or vice versa.
You can also find just about any wild card imaginable on Golden Nugget Online Casino. Options include:
- Destiny Poker
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Poker
- Regal Poker
Pro tip—use the Game King video poker tables; these tend to pay out the best.
Blackjack
Video blackjack offerings at Golden Nugget Online Casino include eighteen different tables, many featuring a live dealer for that thrill of real chance and true casino experience.
All tables are available for gameplay on the Golden Nugget Online Casino mobile apps, except for the Blackjack Pro Atlantic City Single-hand offerings.
Variations available include:
- Standard Blackjack.
- Micro-Limit Blackjack where you can place smaller bets for smaller stakes.
- Vegas Blackjack, a form of multihand blackjack where players can bet on up to five hands, with an autoplay feature to streamline the game.
- Side-Bet Blackjack. Standard blackjack, with the option to place one or more of five side bets (matching suits, deal of a 20, etc.)
- Live-dealer Blackjack, available 24/7.
Table Games
In addition to poker and blackjack, Golden Nugget Online Casino features a number of table games, including mobile-compatible baccarat and several different forms of Roulette, including:
- Standard Roulette.
- American Roulette.
- European Roulette.
- French Roulette
- 100/1 Roulette.
- 3-Wheel Roulette, where a triple bet is placed on three different wheels with three chances to win.
- Double Bonus Spin Roulette, featuring an extra winning yellow bonus slot.
- Live Dealer Roulette.
Live Dealer Games
For players who love the thrill of a real deal, live dealers are on standby in studios on the premises of Golden Nugget Atlantic City, broadcasting live as they deal real games 24/7. Yes, it’s actual felt, real shoes, and genuine roulette wheels.
Golden Nugget is one of few online casino brands to offer 24/7 access to all live dealer games, most other online casinos having defined hours of operation for their live-dealer play.
Note that the house edge tends to be higher on live dealer games. However, players who prefer to bet on real cards or spins of real wheels can do so from the comfort of their own homes or on the road using desktop and mobile versions of Golden Nugget Online Casino. And how much would it cost you to get glammed up, drive to a casino, park, eat and drink–and so on? So in our view, it’s still money well spent.
Live-dealer games on offer at Golden Nugget Online Casino include:
- Baccarat.
- Blackjack.
- Casino Hold’Em.
- Roulette.
Players in live-dealer games here also enjoy the opportunity of social interaction with other players via chat, as well as the option to tip the dealer.
Bingo
Golden Nugget Online Casino offers Empire Action Bingo, Fire Ball Action Bingo, and almost two dozen variations of video Slingo, including:
- Monopoly Slingo.
- Slingo XXXtreme.
- Deal or No Deal Slingo.
- Slingo Showdown.
Scratchcards
Golden Nugget Online Casino offers twelve scratcher games, all mobile-optimized, including:
- Colour Cubes.
- Ghostbusters Spectral Search.
- Medusa.
- Merlin’s Millions.
- Volcano Eruption.
- The Voice.
Loyalty Program
The loyalty program at Golden Nugget Online Casino is called the Golden Rewards Club. As fancy as the name sounds, you don’t have to be invited or even take extra steps to join—as soon as you create your account, you’re in the program and eligible to earn the company’s loyalty point currency, “Golden Points,” in exchange for gameplay.
You also don’t get kicked out of the program or lose points if you take a break from the site or deplete your bankroll. No matter how long it’s been since you last signed in or how much money is in your account, you’ll still have your VIP membership and points earned.
Even better, you can earn, redeem, or trade unlimited points.
Golden Points are awarded as follows:
- 5 Golden Points for every $100 wagered on slots.
- 1 Golden Point for every $100 wagered on table games, including blackjack, video poker, and roulette.
- 1 Golden Point for every $100 bet on sports.
- 20 Golden Points each time you deposit $50-$99 in one day.
- 40 Golden Points each time you deposit $100 or more in one day.
Golden Points can be redeemed in minimum denominations of 100. Each set of 100 points convert to $1 in cash.
To redeem points, click the “Redeem” button on your “My Account” page, or navigate to “My Account” > “Bonus And Loyalty” > “Redeem My Points.”
Golden Nugget Online Casino does have a three-tiered rewards program, with the top-level by invitation only. The tiers are as follows:
Golden Rewards Club
0-4,999 Golden Points
- Monthly, daily, and weekly bonus offers.
- Birthday rewards.
- Leaderboard Giveaways.
VIP Rewards Club
5,000+ Golden Points
- All Golden Rewards Club benefits.
- Faster withdrawals.
- VIP Promotions and Exclusives every week.
- VIP Perks at Golden Nugget Atlantic City land-based casino.
- VIP Customer Support
VIP Elite Club
Invitation Only
- All VIP Rewards Club benefits.
- VIP Elite promotions.
- Exclusive velvet-rope and red-carpet invitations.
- Luxury VIP gifts.
- Personal VIP concierge.
Golden Nugget 24k Elite or Chairman members can apply for expedited VIP status through the Golden Rewards Club.
On the whole, this loyalty program leaves something to be desired. It would be nice if Golden Nugget came up with a more rewarding point distribution system or some other redemption options rather than $1 per 100 points. Considering casinos are all about games of chance, this one seems a little boring and predictable. Upper-tier elite members may well have access to gifts and events, but who knows what those will be?
Golden Nugget Online Casino Website
You have to hand it to Golden Nugget for putting a lot of thought into the user interface of the desktop online casino. There are a lot of games here, as well as a lot of graphics and animations … and yet somehow, it all still makes sense.
The coherence of the site really benefits from robust micro-interactions. While there’s a lot of stuff on this site, it all announces itself as the user moves through the website, so you won’t get lost or confused. Navigation links light up and important links expand as the cursor hovers over them. Hovering over every game also populates the immediate option to either play for real, or play in demo mode.
The game icons even announce information you don’t need in the desktop format. Notably, every game icon available on the mobile app includes a watermark of a smartphone on the title graphic. This instantly-recognizable iconography makes key functions of that game obvious at a glance, enhancing the overall brand experience and prompting new users to check their app marketplace for the corresponding mobile casino.
A scrollable right-hand navigation bar aggregates critical functions such as support, feedback, and social media links–again, all with helpful graphics, surprisingly large and eye-catching considering how many of them there are.
Easy to miss when you first visit is yet another easy-access toolbar, this one the red toolbar at the bottom. It features quick links to “Last Played,” “Top Rated,” “New,” and “Featured” games. When you click on the little carrot icon, another navigation pane pops up to show you the tile icons of those games. Nearby is a direct-access live chat window, offering 24/7 chat support. You can also navigate to a dedicated chat support window.
Golden Nugget Online Casino Mobile App
Golden Nugget Online Casino offers mobile apps for both iOS and Android mobile operating systems.
The apps can be downloaded directly from the https://nj-casino.goldennuggetcasino.com/ mobile website, using direct-download links on the homepage. Alternatively, download the iOS app from the App Store, and the Android app from Android marketplaces like the Google Play store.
Users of either mobile app will appreciate the attention to detail expended by Golden Nugget’s developers to accurately replicate the desktop experience. Everything you can find on the website, from banking to support to feedback, is roughly where it is on the desktop casino, consolidated with the benefit of “hamburgers” or collapsed navigation bars.
The tab navigation of games is here too, allowing you to sort your gameplay options using overlapping gaming categories such as “Slots,” “Table Games,” “Live Dealer Games,” and “Featured Games.”
Games and Gameplay
Yes, most of the casino’s live-dealer games work on the mobile platform, along with the chat and dealer-tip functions, to recreate the excitement of a live table game on your mobile device.
The Golden Nugget Online Casino mobile apps do feature a drastically reduced selection of slot games—by a factor of hundreds—as well as a limited selection of table games.
This is to account for the fact that even the best smartphones and tablets don’t have the graphical and memory capability to run the most graphics-intensive and richly animated video slots and igames—rich gameplay options to which Golden Nugget has wholeheartedly committed on their desktop casino.
We’re sure the limited games selection is merely for this reason since they are extremely attentive and would not want players to experience games frustrations that could backfire on the site’s impeccable brand.
Still, whether playing on a train, waiting room, or on your living room sofa, it’s hard to imagine running out of options with more than 200 games still at your fingertips inside the Golden Nugget mobile casino.
Each game has been lovingly optimized for gameplay on the smaller screen, hardly detracting, if at all, from the gameplay experience of its big brother. You can even seamlessly jump from a live game on the desktop browser to the same game in the mobile app–and keep playing where you left off!
Contact Information
Phone Support:
- Online Casino Support: (855) 582-5117
- Online Sports Support: (855) 873-1010
24/7 Chat Support available here.
24/7 Email Support available at support@goldennuggetcasino.com
Customer feedback can be submitted here.
Golden Nugget Online Casino New Jersey: The Verdict
Golden Nugget Online Casino is considered #1 in its class and we have no reason to argue with that analysis. A quick tour of its website and mobile app makes it clear why. This online casino crams in a lot of gameplay, from slots to sports betting, to live blackjack to video roulette–and just about everything in between.
It would seem like a recipe for chaos, but Golden Nugget has pulled out all the stops with industry-leading user experience, featuring an intuitive web design with myriad micro-interactions to help guide a player through the busy options.
Add to that a fat deposit match, 24/7 support, 24/7 live-dealer games, and dedicated apps for both iOS and Android, and it’s easy to see why players have flocked to Golden Nugget Online Casino in droves, even after its late arrival to the market.
It’s not perfect, of course. The mobile apps feature a drastically reduced roster of games (mostly from among the 650+ animation-intensive video slot selection).
The Golden Rewards Club feels a little half-baked as well. It would be nice if Golden Points could be redeemed for something more exciting than what amounts to a penny a point in denominations of 100. All in all, not very engaging, enticing, or immersive.
Still, these are minor quibbles with what amounts to a very impressive product. Hats off to Golden Nugget NJ.