I was in Vegas, in June, for 6 nights at MGM Grand. I was shocked to see during the day (regardless of weekend or week day) the minimums for craps was $15. The strange thing was a that round prime time,they would drop the minimum to $10. Around 11pm or midnight they would raise the minimum back to $15. I thought this was really strange to have the higher minimum during the day and then drop it to later on. I did not explore other main casinos during the day to see what their minimums were to see if this was a trend. MGM does not seem like a fancy enough place to be demanding $15 mins.
Seems during the day and lare night that craps players want to play craps period but during prime time they're going after "impulse gamblers" that dont usually play craps, but will try with the lower min at least that's how i read it
There really is no rhyme or reason of how and when they dictate the minimums - with the main exception being when there is a big event in town. SB Weekend will have the tables at high minimums from Thursday through Monday AM. One year I walked through the old IP and they had $25 tables...and didn't even have plastic placards - they had handwritten signs! I have seen MGM at $15min on Wednesday mornings in August with no big events in town. And I have seen Mirage have $5 tables at 9am on a Saturday in the summer.
At Cosmo if I'm up early like 6am, I will see one craps table open and it'll be whatever the minimum was over night. It's not until the next shift comes in do I see it go to $10. Usually by 10a it's down to $10 on a weekday.
I was just at MGM for the Fourth of July weekend and played craps for more hours than I care to admit. It seemed like they always had a $10 table open and the table was always busy. This was true at 11am on a holiday weekend day and at prime hours (11pm to stupid o'clock), too. I was at the $10 table for a hot second on a Saturday night, but was really frustrated by the slow pace of play (people who think they know how to dice set, etc.), so I packed it up and went to the $25. (I do about $150/roll, not including odds, so the only difference in my play was how much I'm putting down on pass line + odds).
I actually like a slower pace because it would add more time on my player's card. But I do get anxious to see the next roll too sometimes if it's too slow. I was wondering if someone requested a lower minimum, and they obliged because the table was empty.
The floor at MGM was always great at supply and demand. If no one was there they'd go as low as $5 and go up as the tables fill up. But rumor has it that they are not necessarily allowed to do this as much as word has come down from corporate to try to keep the tables at $15. So the floor sometimes has to wait for the pit to wonder by to ask to get things lowered. I've still seen 5$ tables there from time to time, but now way more $15 tables when there used to be none. I would expect for $15 to become the permanent norm for the foreseeable future.
Frank has it right. The $10 min in the early evening is to draw the casual player. The $15 min mid-day is to take as much from the guy that is just going to play anyway. Aria does the same thing. It is common place to see $15 min mid-day and then $10 in the evening.
You are lucky to get $15 flat with 3x/4x/5x odds (see Wynncore odds threads). I don't know why anybody plays at MGM when you can get the same limits and odds at Bellagio, plus no 6:5 blackjack.