Table Games Asking to play lower minimum at empty table?

Tried it once at Venetian. Dealer said no without even consulting the pit. I came back another day and a lower limit table with the same rules was open. Maybe it had to do with what day it was or what time of day it was.

 

Tried this a few times mainly at Cosmo (not in last two years!) and mostly refused, although it has worked more than once.
When the request was granted the pitboss let myself and my wife play either 10 on a 15 table or 15 on a 25 table, however they didn't change the minimum so it looked like we had been grandfathered in to other players I guess.

In a really rare occurrence a pitboss at Cosmo on seeing us baulk at the 25 minimum offered to let us play under that without us even asking!

 

I walked by an empty $10 craps table at Mirage on my way to grab a quick breakfast. Walked back a few minutes later and it was down to $5 and still empty. I excitedly called my low-rolling buddy because he wanted to try craps, and headed up to the room to meet up and get some money.

Ten minutes we get back to the floor and it's $15... and still empty. I asked if I played at 15 could they sort or grandfather my buddy in at 5, and the pit boss wanted nothing to do with it.

 

My only success was at Cosmo when I did a lap, saw 15, checked on the GF then it was 25, I asked if I was losing my mind and if it wasn't just 15 and he let me in at that, I still remember that gesture, prob why I will play $25 there now, (also crews are usually pretty excellent and entertaining).

Maybe if we make it a consistent practice to just ask, I mean, what do you have to lose, the message can float up to those boneheads up top. I'm good for 3 asks next trip.

 

Yeah, me and my wife love some of the Cosmo dice dealers.
They know what I want to press and play before i do sometimes!

 

Being that you might have to go a little bit off the beaten path if you don't like the table minimums you could always vote with your feet and try some of the smaller casinos

 

It depends on the place. South Point grandfathered us in at $5 when the table went to $15 (which was a crazy jump). We could stay at $5 until we both in for more money or left and came back.

I have tried it at my local places and they don't lower it.

But the worst thing they can tell you is no.

 

Never hurts to ask. I've had casinos lower the table several times though usually, they won't.

 

We asked a couple times only at empty $10 tables. if we played at $10 could our kids play at $5. each time the pit boss okayed it. Both times we filled the empty table though, so I think that helped.

 

We stayed at the Cosmo a couple of weeks ago. Yes, it is absolutely gorgeous. Having said that for the cost of a ten dollar Uber ride we had the best time at Treasure Island and Ellis Island. We played around five hours at each of those places. Drinks service, dealers and table minimums were fantastic. We left both place a couple of hundred ahead and wound up with a free dinner at both and yes the ribs and craft beer at Ellis Island were amazing and I know good beer and BBQ. My advice to us low rollers, don't be a snob and don't be penny wise and dollar foolish. Spend the ten bucks for an Uber ride and check out some of these low rent places. You just might have a great time like we did.

 

Was at Harrahs one weekday morning in July, the Roll to Win table was packed with people waiting to get in, and the dealer-staffed table was $25 minimum and empty. I went over and asked the boss if he could drop the minimum to $15, and he said no. Pre-pandemic I always saw $10 tables at Harrahs.

 

Back in the days of the barbary coast I remember asking the dealer why they raised the table minimum on a day when there were only about 6 people at the table. His answer with a grin was " there is a lot of people in Las Vegas this weekend and they need room to get rid of their money before they leave on Sunday". When you watch some people play craps you have to believe that is the right answer!!!

 

What kind of moron pit boss raises the table limit when it is empty?

 

I’ve asked and been given lower limits at Encore several times. Down to $50 from $100. I’ve never once been told no. Always an empty table. Same story at Bellagio. Don’t worry about it. I would most likely not do this in an HL room or at a table with others already playing.

 

Every once in a while, a dealer or cashier will give you a straight and also humorous answer like that. I once found myself at a loose poker table at Harrah's. The cowboys were in town. Upon cashing my winnings, I commented that it had been easy pickings that morning. Asked if it was always that way. The cashier answered in a voice reminiscent of Burl Ives, "It's a cannnn-dy store."

 

If the table mins are on a schedule, there might not be anything he can do about it. It happens at the local casinos all the time. Someone higher up tells them at 5pm the tables switch and there is no option to leave it as is because no one is playing. In the mornings, even pre pandemic, I saw table mins change at tables in Vegas with no one on them all the time. Usually around 10 or 11am tables went from $5 to $10.

 

I walked by a free bet BJ table at Wynn once that was $500 minimum with no one playing. This seemed bizarre to me, so I asked what the deal was and they said there are a few high rollers who like to play free bet BJ and since they dont have a table in the HL room, they needed to keep it open for them

 

So this isn't quite the same, but tonight I was wandering through Aria on my way back from a dinner, where blackjack is usually $100 across the board for 3:2 once the sun goes down. Shockingly, there were a couple $50 tables, so I figured I couldn't pass this up, and sat down at one. I put down my money, and the dealer paid me all in black chips; apparently the pit had literally just changed it. I asked about it, and she was just casually like, "Oh, whatever, you can play at $50."

 

I've been "grandfathered" before when they raised a minimum while I was playing. But also, I have asked a couple times to lower a table limit - on roulette - when it was empty. I know it has worked for me once or twice. But the other times I was told no.

 

Yeah, while playing, I've had that happen plenty of times, and always got grandfathered in. This was just a weird scenario where the minimum was raised while I was in the middle of buying in. Never had that happen before!