#330Monday, January 27, 2025
Strands answers for January 27, 2025 — “Viva Las Vegas” (#330)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 27, 2025 (puzzle #330) is GAMBLING, a 8-letter answer to the theme "Viva Las Vegas". The 6 theme words are BACCARAT, BLACKJACK, CRAPS, POKER, ROULETTE and SLOTS.
Where is each answer on the January 27 Strands board?
Strands #330 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram GAMBLING.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BACCARAT | 8 | row 1, column 6 | row 3, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| BLACKJACK | 9 | row 7, column 4 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| CRAPS | 5 | row 6, column 6 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| POKER | 5 | row 2, column 4 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| ROULETTE | 8 | row 4, column 4 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| SLOTS | 5 | row 1, column 3 | row 1, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| GAMBLING | 8 | row 6, column 2 | row 6, column 5 | left to right |
What did the January 27 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 8 letters6 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads T-S-S-C-C-B, row 2 reads O-L-O-P-A-A, row 3 reads E-K-B-L-T-R, row 4 reads R-M-T-R-I-A, row 5 reads A-E-E-T-O-N, row 6 reads J-G-L-U-G-C, row 7 reads A-K-C-B-R-A, and row 8 reads K-C-A-L-P-S.
How hard was the January 27 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #330 as hard: it sits at the 87th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the January 27 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #330 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Emily Ngo. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the January 27 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 27, 2025?
The Strands clue for January 27, 2025 is “Viva Las Vegas”, on puzzle #330. It is answered by the spangram GAMBLING, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 27, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for January 27, 2025 are BACCARAT, BLACKJACK, CRAPS, POKER, ROULETTE and SLOTS, plus the spangram GAMBLING.
What was the big word in the January 27, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 27, 2025 is GAMBLING, 8 letters long, running from row 6, column 2 to row 6, column 5. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Viva Las Vegas” mean?
The Strands theme “Viva Las Vegas” for January 27, 2025 means GAMBLING — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands January 27, 2025?
Strands puzzle #330 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 27, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #330 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 87% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 27, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, January 27, 2025 is #330, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in January 2025, part of the full Strands archive.