What's the best Arcade to buy and how do you start the Diamond Casino Heist in GTA Online? Arcades are a little different to other businesses in GTA Online, as while they do provide you with a passive income, they're not going to add to your criminal empire in quite the same way that Nightclubs and MC Businesses do. Instead, these social spaces serve as a hub for the Diamond Casino Heist, and a bunch of pretty fun minigames that you can buy. As part of our GTA Online guide, we're going to introduce the best Arcade to buy and how to start the Diamond Casino Heist.

GTA Online: Best Arcade to Buy

GTA Online: Best Arcade to Buy and How to Start the Diamond Casino Heist Guide 2
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Before you decide on the best Arcade to buy in GTA Online, then you'll need to meet Lester in Mirror Park. This will setup the Diamond Casino Heist, and he'll begin texting you about Arcades that you can purchase from Maze Bank Foreclosures, using the Internet app on your smartphone. There are 6 Arcades available to buy. They are:

Pixel Pete's (Paleto Bay)
GTA$1,235,000
Wonderama (Grapeseed)
GTA$1,565,000
Eight-Bit (Vinewood)
GTA$2,530,000
Insert Coin (Rockford Hills)
GTA$2,345,000
Videogeddon (La Mesa)
GTA$1,875,000
Warehouse (Davis)
GTA$2,135,000

In terms of location, if you're planning to run the Diamond Casino Heist, then it's recommended you select a location near to the the Diamond Casino & Resort. You can also purchase an upgrade called the Master Control Terminal from the Pixel Emporium app on the laptop in your Arcade's office, which will allow you to launch missions for all of your other Businesses. Unfortunately, you won't be teleported to the location of your Businesses, meaning you'll need to travel to them. As this can eat up mission time, you're going to want your Arcade to be placed as closely to your MC Businesses, Bunker, Nightclub, and Warehouses as possible.

The best Arcade to buy will depend entirely on the location of your businesses, but we opted for Videogeddon at La Mesa due to its overall optimal positioning. With regards to Renovations, you don't really need any of them, unless you're looking for more vehicle storage space with the Garage or a spawn point with the Personal Quarters. However, if you do own lots of Businesses, we'd strongly recommend you get the Master Control Terminal from the Pixel Emporium, as previously mentioned. If you can't afford it, then you can find out How to Make Money Fast through here.

GTA Online: Best Arcade to Buy and How to Start the Diamond Casino Heist Guide 3
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You can also buy a variety of different arcade cabinets. These each have unique minigames for you to play in your Arcade, either alone or with friends. They are:

  • Axe of Fury
  • Badlands Revenge II
  • Camhedz
  • Defender of the Faith
  • Don't Cross the Line
  • Invade and Persuade 2
  • Monkey's Paradise
  • Race and Chase: Crotch Rockets
  • Race and Chase: Get Truckin'
  • Race and Chase: Street Legal
  • Madam Nazar
  • Penetrator
  • QUB3D
  • Shiny Wasabi Kitty Claw
  • Space Monkey 3: Bananas Gone Bad
  • Street Crimes: Gang Wars Edition
  • The Love Professor
  • The Wizard's Ruin

You'll get a copy of Street Crimes: Gang Wars Edition for free alongside your Arcade, which is a co-op beat-'em-up that can be played by up to four different players. Many of these minigames have Awards attached, and will earn you RP when completed.

GTA Online: How to Start the Diamond Casino Heist

GTA Online: Best Arcade to Buy and How to Start the Diamond Casino Heist Guide 4
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Once you've bought an Arcade, starting the Diamond Casino Heist is extremely straight-forward. All you need to do is enter your Arcade's office, and interactt with the Lester Speaks fortune-teller at the back wall. This will reveal the staircase to a basement area, where the planning board for the Diamond Casino Heist exists. It's also where you'll find your Master Control Terminal, if you decided to purchase it.

The Diamond Casino Heist can be setup and executed in a variety of different ways, allowing you to choose between Silent & Sneaky, Big Con, or Aggressive. There's a GTA$25,000 setup cost, but the payout is pretty massive depending on your execution of the mission and target. As with other Heists, such as the Cayo Perico Heist, the contents of the Diamond & Casino Resort's vault will be randomly selected.

Mission Target Setup Cost Potential Reward on Normal Potential Reward on Hard
Cash GTA$25,000 GTA$2,115,000 GTA$2,326,500
Artwork GTA$25,000 GTA$2,350,000 GTA$2,585,000
Gold GTA$25,000 GTA$2,585,000 GTA$2,843,500
Diamonds (Event Only) GTA$25,000 GTA$3,290,000 GTA$3,619,000

The beauty of the Diamond Casino Heist is that you can approach it whichever way you want to, although we'd recommend avoiding Aggressive purely because taking gunfire will cause you to lose cash, reducing your overall pay out. While the Heist can be played with up to four people, we'd recommend only taking two on the mission — especially if you choose Silent & Sneaky or Big Con — because that will ensure that a larger portion of the proceeds end up in your pocket.


What do you think is the best Arcade to buy and do you have any addition tips and tricks for how to start the Diamond Casino Heist in GTA Online? Take a look at our GTA Online guide, and let us know in the comments section below.