Table Games Trying to keep updated with Table Minimums (Report here!)

That sounds so fun! No wonder I love love 6:5 blackjack.

 

just back from a week staying at Paris. Only play craps when in Vegas. Played everyday varying hours from 7AM to 12PM each day I would say the casinos are learning that they cannot have consistently high minimums at the craps tables and keep the tables full. I played at Paris, Harrahs, Linq, O'sheas, Flamingo, Horseshoe , Cromwell and Planet Hollywood. All of them had $15 dollar minimums at various times in AM, afternoon and late in the evening.. The Cromwell always had a $15 table anytime of day. Planet hollywood would be the casino with the second most consistent $15 minimum. Even the weekend there were $15 table minimums. I would just walk the strip, check the table and play if $15 and move on if not. Caesars was the only one of their brand that i never saw a $15 table, however the $100 seemed to be non existent and $25 was the norm. Our friends were staying at Bellagio and even Bellagio had a $15 table in the early morning till around 11am then reverted to $25. It is getting better, the little guy is making a comeback!!!

 

I would argue that unless it's $10 or below, the little guy is still priced out!

 

Having been mainly a downtown player for the past 15 years, I don't know how hard it was to find $5 3/2 blackjack or craps tables on the Strip in the 2010s. I still remember getting into Vegas on a Sunday afternoon in 2006 and walking that corridor between Bally's and Harrah's. The craps tables were pretty much all $15 and I was very surprised. Of course by that night, I was playing on a $5 table at P-Ho.

I knew eventually it was going to get more expensive to gamble. These days, with inflation, $15 min craps tables on the Strip don't surprise me. But I also don't see why it should be hard to play $15 3/2 on the Strip. And downtown, where I understood $5 craps mins to be the norm before the pandemic, to have most places at $15 on the craps tables to me is absurd.

 

A couple of downtown casinos had $25 BJ during the opening weekend of March Madness. I'm going to assume that's just a dynamic pricing model, but there were quite a few $15 BJ/3 on the strip between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

 

$15 3/2 blackjack on the Strip? The only place on the Strip proper I ever hear of 3/2 being lower than $25 is at TI.

 

In 2024, I believe $10 is a reasonable saw off point. Would I prefer $5? Of course! Not that I play at that level, but only if I’m getting hammered about 5 in a row. Like to tread water at the minimum, until the tide turns!

 

The casinos want $5 and $10 players on the electronic tables. $15 is the absolute minimum to get a live dealer on the strip now a days.

 

You do have the $5 carny/poker pit games along the Caesars east-Strip corridor:

https://vegasadvantage.com/table-game-survey-walk-through-nine-strip-casinos/

But yes, the lower house edge games are gonna be $15 and up.

 

I've never really been a strip visitor, but from what I read, it seems that $15:is often the entry point downtown as well.

I live in NJ. If I want to play tables for $15 or higher, I can go to Atlantic City.

 

Mostly, but I literally saw $10 live tables three weeks ago at Luxor and Mandalay Bay in the 8-9 AM hours.

 

Downtown, April 9-12, 2024:

Nugget - still offering $5 carny-games - UTH, Miss. Stud, 3-card poker, High-Card Flush, Criss-Cross Poker. (No playable 'main-floor' blackjack)
4-Queens - $10 3-card, $15 craps, no playable blackjack.
Fremont/Cal - Here is the breaking news! Boyd downtown now offers double-after-split on their double-deck games... & the Cal had those tables at $10 on Wednesday morning (9AM or so). At the Fremont on Friday morning, the table was at $15, but with no players. I asked if they would lower it to $10 & they did. Boyd may very well start getting considerably more play from me on future trips!
El-Cortez - $10 & $15 double deck blackjack (DAS permitted) on Wednesday & Thursdays. UTH & 3-Card at $10. Craps at $15.
DTG - $5 UTH & 3-Card (the UTH table was only only open at night on Tuesday through Thursday...at 11AM on Friday. The 3:2 CSM blackjack tables were $5 & $10, until Friday morning, when they jumped to $15. (They lowered it to $10 when I asked at an empty table). The craps jumped up from $5 (day) to $10 at night, every night.
Circa - plenty of $15 3:2 blackjack, but all 6/8 deck shoes. Craps, UTH & 3-Card were all $15.

I did not go into Binion's, MSS, Golden Gate, the D or Plaza.

 

MGM Craps - $25, tables lowered to $15 if empty, but quickly goes to $25 if someone is playing.

 

Great reporting!

 

The D had $10 blackjack on Friday early, then $15 in the evening. $10 for UTH when I played Saturday. Most carny games were $15. Don't think craps was ever less than $15. Saturday night, IIRC, blackjack at the D was mostly $20. Pretty sure UTH was closed Sunday morning; they only have one table

I saw the same as you at Circa (played $15 blackjack and craps Saturday afternoon)

DTG is consistent with what I saw as well.

 

That’s good news about the Fremont and Cal. Can you double down after any two cards on their double deck game or only on 10 or 11?

 

All of the "normal" 3:2 double-deck blackjack tables downtown (now) offer DAS and DAT (double-any-two cards).
Boyd offers pitch-games. All of the others are (were?) shoe-dealt, face-up, (easier for "tracking", if you know what I mean!)

Here are all of the mid-week minimums I'm aware of for those 2-deck games:
Fremont-Cal-(MSS?): $10 before 11AM, $15 after.
The D, Circa & Golden Gate - no double-deck on main floor. I believe the high-limit rooms at GG & D have $100 tables. Those may be $50 on weekday mornings.
Golden Nugget - no double-deck on main floor. I believe the high-limit room has a $50 table during the day that goes to $100 at night.
4-Queens & Binion's - no double-deck, or any other playable blackjack.
Plaza - $25, the last time I was in there.
El-Cortez - $10 & $15, with one $25 & one $100 (Wednesday & Thursday early afternoons)
DTG - no double-deck on main floor. I read here on VMB sometime ago that they have a high-limit room with two-deck pitch at $50, but I have no idea where it is. Never seen it.

 

Last time I was in Vegas GG had DD at $50 dealt face up (Thursday evening) - quite a good game but they sweat it immediately with 2 pit bosses. I enjoyed playing it.

 

...by the way, something crazy at the Cal... I was staying there Tuesday & Wednesday nights - and every time the 'Face-up Pai Gow' table was open, it was set at $50 minimum!
The crazy thing was that there were always 2 to 3 players at that level!

 

It’s probably because of the progressive meter being high. It was already really high when I was there about three weeks ago, and if it hasn’t been hit since it’s crazy high now. So they increase the table min to $50 to make more money on the people chasing the +EV progressive.