Best Table Games In Vegas
With modern wager options that allow you to win big—minus the hassle and high prices of the Strip— locals call Santa Fe Station Casino their favorite place to play table games in Vegas. From 24/7 $5 blackjack tables to the exhilarating action of Craps Fire Bet, there’s always a good time and a great game waiting at Santa Fe. The best place to find new table games in Las Vegas is right here at The Venetian and The Palazzo. We spare no expense in bringing the latest and hottest games to our casinos and have made the addition of new and exciting ways to play one of the hallmarks of our resort. There’s a reason why Successful Meetings Magazine awarded us their.
The quality of blackjack games in Las Vegas has declined over the past 15-20 years. The availability of strategy information over the internet has forced casinos to drop some of the more liberal rules. Casinos first started hitting on soft 17. Some stopped offering surrender or re-splitting aces in shoe games.
The biggest rule change that goes against players was rolled out first at single deck games. This terrible rule started paying players 6:5 on a blackjack, as opposed to 3:2. This means that a $10 blackjack would pay $12 instead of $15. Once the casinos got away with this at single deck games, the 6:5 rule started infecting double deck and shoe games. Most single deck blackjack tables have disappeared from the Las Vegas Strip because of this. A 6:5 payout on a blackjack adds 1.39% to the house edge.
While some Las Vegas casinos offer terrible rules on blackjack these days, there are still several places where a good game may be found. Some are even on the Las Vegas Strip, although some of the better ones are located downtown and in the locals market. All of the games mentioned below pay 3:2 on a blackjack.
Best Las Vegas Strip Blackjack
The Strat is the best Las Vegas Strip casino for blackjack. It offers $5 3:2 blackjack during the day that goes to $10 during busier hours. These shoe games offer double down before and after splitting with surrender and re-split aces. A double deck with double down before and after splitting starts at $15. These games hit soft 17.
Best Table Games In Vegas
A $100 six-deck table in high limit has the same rules as the $5 game but stands on soft 17. This game may require reservations with a host to ensure it is open.
Treasure Island is another great Las Vegas Strip casino for blackjack. Players will find $10 games with great rules at Treasure Island. The shoe games offer surrender, re-split aces, and double down after splitting. These tables start at $10. Double deck starts at $15. Those tables allow double down after splitting. These low limit games hit soft 17.
Players willing to bet $50 can move to the high limit salon. They will get a shoe game with double down after splitting, re-split aces, and surrender. The high limit double deck starts at $50 and allows double down after splitting. The dealer stands on all 17’s at both games. The high limit salon is only open on weekend nights.
Sahara spreads good $15 3:2 blackjack. Players can double down on any two cards and after splitting in the blackjack pit at Sahara. The dealer hits soft 17. This game is offered in the high limit salon for $50 where the dealer stands on all 17’s. This game adds surrender and re-split aces to the rules.
Caesars properties that spread 3:2 blackjack under $25. Bally’s, The Cromwell, Paris and Rio deal $10 or $15 3:2 eight-deck blackjack during slower hours. This game allows double down after splitting and surrender. The Cromwell and Rio also have $15 3:2 double deck game. Double down before but not after splitting is allowed. Otherwise, all other Caesars Entertainment 3:2 blackjack tables start at $25. It takes $100 to get a stand on all 17 game.
Best Downtown Las Vegas Blackjack
El Cortez offers the best blackjack game in downtown Las Vegas. It is a single deck that pays 3:2 on a blackjack. Players can double down on any two cards and the dealer hits soft 17. The minimum bet is usually $10. Be careful in this game as the pit bosses will sweat large action or bet spreads. El Cortez also has $10 double deck and six-deck games for $10. These tables allow double down before and after splitting.
Downtown Grand offers the best shoe games downtown. For a $5 minimum, players can double down after splitting, re-split aces and surrender. The double deck game with double down before and after splitting starts at $10. Low rollers will find an even money $1 blackjack table at Downtown Grand. The pit is open Thursday through Sunday.
Circa, The D and Golden Gate only offer 3:2 blackjack. The minimum bet is typically $10 or $15 at The D and Golden Gate and $15 or $25 at Circa. There is also a $100 stand on all 17 six-deck game in the high limit salon at Circa. Double down before and after splitting is available at these casinos.
All regular blackjacks pay 3:2 at Plaza. Plaza deals a $5 or $10 six-deck game with double down before and after splitting. The double deck game gas the same rules. It has a $25 minimum bet.
Best Las Vegas Locals Blackjack
The competition in the off-strip blackjack market is fierce. Players will be able to find shoe games that start at $5 where double down after splitting, surrender and re-split aces are allowed at Cannery andEllis Island.
Aliante and Station Casinos have $5 or $10 3:2 blackjack games with surrender but not re-split aces. Club Fortune, Silverton and Tuscany have re-split aces instead of surrender for $10. South Point has $5 3:2 six-deck tables with double down before and after splitting. A $3 table with a continuous shuffle machine at Jerry’s Nugget has the same rules.
Station Casinos properties offer double deck blackjack where players can double down after splitting. It is $5 at Boulder Station and Santa Fe Station and $10 at the others. M Resort offers the same game with a $15 minimum. The dealer hits soft 17. Suncoast, The Orleans, Gold Coast, South Point and Silverton also spread this game. The minimum bet is usually $10 at these tables. A $5 version of this game is dealt at Jerry’s Nugget.
Some locals casinos have a high limit salon with stand on all 17 blackjack tables. M Resort has a $50 minimum with double down before and after splitting, surrender and re-split aces. Green Valley Ranch, Palace Station, Red Rock and Rio have the game for $100 with surrender but no re-split aces.
The D casino announced it now offers what amounts to ATMs at its table games, and the Internet sort of lost its mind.
In a news release, The D shared it has “officially debuted a new automated cashless gaming system, ACS PlayOn, for all table games.”
The release continues, “Offering a convenient experience for guests, PlayOn is a modern technology that allows players to purchase casino chips using a debit card, eliminating the need to use an ATM machine or cashier’s window between hands.”
Cue the mind-losing.
Here’s a look at the kerfuffle-causer in question.
Las Vegas Table Games Online
Reminder: PIN stands for “personal identification number,” so please don’t say “PIN number.” It’s like saying “please RSVP.” Really annoying.
Simply put, when you’re at the table (roulette, craps, blackjack, whatever), you can use your debit card to get chips.
That’s pretty much it.
Yes, there’s a fee. We know how you are.
The fee is $4, plus 2.5% of whatever you withdraw. So, for $100, that’s a total of $6.50, or about the same as an ATM fee. (Reminder: ATM stands for “automated teller machine,” so please don’t say “ATM machine.” Sorry to call you out, news release, but common mistake.)
It’s worth noting the PlayOn machines don’t accept credit cards. They also won’t let you exceed your debit card’s maximum daily withdrawal limit.
This seemingly straightforward service has already been in place at Palms since December 2019. The system will also be available at Golden Gate (same owners as The D) and The Strat in the next few days (as yet unannounced).
News of the system’s debut at The D seems to have hit a nerve.
Most of the feedback on the Twitters relates to the belief people will gamble more than they typically would because the cashless system makes money (or chips) too readily available.
There was also some discussion of the fee being too high. At The D, players can withdraw $50-$3,000. The 2.5% fee on $3,000 would be $75, presumably.
Best Table Games In Vegas
We didn’t read the fine print. We were drunk. Full disclosure: We still are. You’re not our mom.
Our brilliant response to most of the criticism of this system was, “It’s an ATM, just closer.”
A good number of people expressed that in the heat of the moment, a player having to stand up and walk to an ATM might give them time to ponder their life choices and avoid the impulse to throw good money after bad.
Interestingly, few mentioned people often win in casinos when they throw good money after bad. Glass half empty, much?
The controversy about “tabletop ATMs” in casinos isn’t new. When Palms got its system in 2019, the news coverage ranged from balanced to outright damning.
All we know for sure is if we’re playing blackjack and out of cash but want to double down, now we can do it without leaving the table (and without borrowing the money using a “marker,” or casino credit).
We’d love to hear your thoughts about this, as the amount of negative feedback was genuinely surprising, and we tend to know everything.
Another disclosure: We work in digital marketing at Fremont Street Experience. The D is a member casino of that organization. Our opinions are our own.
Here’s the official site for PlayOn, the cashless casino table games system we expect is here to stay.