How to do the Diamond Casino Heist in 2026: Arcade, approaches, crew and payouts

Data checked on November 6, 2026, after update 1.73.

The Diamond Casino Heist launched on December 12, 2019. In July 2026, alongside The Kortz Center Heist, vault target values dropped by roughly 30%: diamonds on Normal went from 3,290,000 to 2,303,000. Rockstar didn't publish these numbers itself; players measured them, and GTABase, GTA Boss and GTA Boom confirmed them.

At the same time, Rockstar added the casino to the list of activities that pay more for the first finale of the week. So one run after the Thursday reset pays more than before the changes, and repeats pay less. An overview of every heist is on our GTA Online heists page.

First, meet Lester in Mirror Park. After that you can buy an Arcade on the Maze Bank Foreclosures website; the heist is planned in its basement. Only a player registered as a CEO, VIP or MC President can launch it.

Prices without discounts. Guides recommend La Mesa: it's close to the casino and downtown. Paleto Bay is the cheapest, but every drive from there takes longer. The first setup is free; after that the leader pays Lester GTA$25,000 each time.

Before the first run there are two setup missions. Casino Scope Out: photograph a guard, a keypad and the cameras, and find access points. Vault Contents: use the casino's cameras to see what's in the vault. Then you choose an approach.

Common to all approaches, per GTA Wiki: Unmarked Weapons, Getaway Vehicles, Hacking Device, Vault Keycards. Optional preps (Guard Patrol Routes, Duggan Shipments, Power Drills, Security Pass, Masks and others) make the finale easier. According to GTABase and GTA Boom, you can't pick the same approach twice in a row.

The approach determines how much time you get in the vault: if you aren't spotted, the window is longer and you have time to fill the bags.

Entry points by approach

Entry points per GTA Wiki; GTABase and GTA Boss confirm the overall layout. You can leave the casino through any of these points, but the roof and the helipad need a parachute. The finale runs like this: entry → vault → exit through the chosen point → escape from the police → meeting the buyer.

Amounts in GTA$ for the whole crew, before Lester's cut, crew members' cuts and damage, according to GTA Boss, GTA Boom and GTABase. Hard pays +10%.

The weekly rule. According to the update 1.73 patch notes, the casino finale pays more if the leader (host) hasn't completed it yet in the current week. The reset is every Thursday. The ≈1.86 multiplier was measured by players; Rockstar didn't state it.

Which target you'll get. There are no official odds. Cash shows up most often, followed by artwork and gold. Diamonds are the rarest and appear mostly during event weeks when Rockstar turns them on. Those weeks are listed in our weekly update.

From the total take, Lester's 5% and the cuts of the three support crew members come off first: the gunman (5–10%), the driver (5–10%) and the hacker (3–10%). The cheapest gunman and driver are Karl Abolaji and Karim Denz, 5% each. Together that's 18 to 35%. The players split the rest.

Data from GTABase and GTA Wiki; the unlock conditions match GTA Boss. The hacker doesn't increase the take, they give you time: with a cheap hacker the crew may not manage to fill the bags. So in our view it's better to save on the gunman and the driver, not the hacker.

Player cuts. Each participant gets at least 15%. So the leader can take at most 85% with two players, 70% with three and 55% with four.

Example (our own calculation). Cash on Normal, a repeat run: 1,480,500. The cheapest support crew (5 + 5 + 3%) and Lester take 18%, leaving the players ≈1,214,000. With two players at 85/15 that's ≈1,032,000 for the leader and ≈182,000 for the partner. This assumes you grab everything and lose nothing to gunfire.

Hard adds 10% to the payout and doubles the Elite bonus. Rockstar doesn't say exactly how it's triggered, and guides disagree. Most often it's by starting the next run soon after a finale. GTA Boom also links Hard to changing the approach. We don't give an exact time.

Elite Challenge pays +50,000 on Normal and +100,000 on Hard. Conditions per GTABase:

• Silent & Sneaky: finale in under 15 minutes, nobody dies, no failed hacks, you're never detected.
• The Big Con: under 15 minutes, nobody dies, you're never detected.
• Aggressive: under 15 minutes, nobody dies, 80 headshots.

No. The finale is built for two to four players, as GTABase, GTA Wiki and GTA Boom confirm. The leader can do the prep missions alone (per GTA Wiki), and a partner is only needed for the finale. They don't need an Arcade and will get at least 15%.

If you have nobody to play with, solo players have Cayo Perico solo and The Kortz Center Heist. How to combine heists with businesses is covered in our guide on how to make money in GTA Online.

• The easiest setup per GTA Boss: The Big Con in the Gruppe Sechs disguise through the Security Tunnel. Of the optional preps, it says Security Pass level 2 (a keycard instead of hacking doors) and Duggan Shipments (weaker guard armor) are worth the time; the rest can be skipped.
• Rotate with other heists: after the first casino finale of the week, move on to The Kortz Center Heist or Cayo Perico rather than repeating the casino at the reduced payout.
• Stay quiet. A stealthy run gives you a longer window in the vault, which means fuller bags.
• Don't take bullets while carrying the loot: according to GTA Boom, every hit lowers the amount in your bag.

Rockstar patches glitches, and mod menus can get you banned. We don't publish such methods.