Bally’s on the Las Vegas Strip became Horseshoe in December 2022. There are several changes to the property since we last visited it under the Bally’s brand.
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The most noticeable change is the new 18-table World Series of Poker Room. It is in the same area as before. Four tables were added. The new Horseshoe poker room has more space between tables and has a new design.
There are four more live table games at Horseshoe than there were when we last surveyed Bally’s before the rebranding. We counted 36, against 32 during our last visit. Double Up Blackjack (6:5), I Luv Suits, Let it Ride, Mississippi Stud, and high limit double-deck blackjack were all added since our last survey. Four of the 6:5 blackjack tables were changed to these games.
The poker pit games were all $10 during our April 2023 visit to Horseshoe Las Vegas. Most of these games were $15 during our last Bally’s survey.
One craps table was converted to crapless craps. This leaves two of each type of dice game.
There is a new Caesars Sportsbook counter just off the casino floor in the corridor that goes towards Paris and the parking deck. There is no viewing area here. It is just a ticket-writing counter with a bar next to it. Bally’s had a giant sportsbook in its lower level. That is an arcade today.
What hasn’t changed
Many parts of the casino are exactly the same as before. The video poker pay tables are identical. The best games that I found were $1 to $5 9/5 Jacks or Better and 8/5 Bonus Poker. These are behind the high limit tables. The selection of video poker variants is largely the same. The popular $0.25 8/5 Double Double Bonus Poker games are still on the casino floor in front of the poker room.
The casino bar video poker is still atrocious. The best game I found was 30/6/5 Bonus Poker, which has a 3.82% house advantage when betting five coins and using the perfect strategy. It is basically 6/5 Jacks or Better with a small bump on quads. The pay table is the same from $0.25 up to $5. You are better off paying for your drinks.
While the Horseshoe brand across the United States has 100 times craps odds, the Las Vegas one is still 3-4-5 times. All Las Vegas Strip casinos have 3-4-5 times odds, except The Strat. There was hope that Horseshoe would change that, but it is the same.
There are still triple zero roulette tables on the casino floor. All the blackjack on the casino floor pays 6/5, including double-deck, eight-deck, Double Up, and Free Bet. There is no 3/2 blackjack at Horseshoe unless high limit is open, which is only during peak hours. The minimum bet for 3/2 blackjack at Horseshoe is $50, when available. That is hardly the deal the original Binion’s Horseshoe was.
Comparing Horseshoe to Binion’s
Binion’s in downtown Las Vegas is the original Horseshoe. Caesars Entertainment says that it wants to bring the value this classic property once had. I don’t think that it is anywhere close to that. In a future post, I will compare Horseshoe on the Las Vegas Strip to Binion’s on Fremont Street.
