We have studied Las Vegas blackjack games since 2010. At first, we only visited the Las Vegas Strip and downtown. As the years went by, we added locals casinos. By 2017, we included all Las Vegas casinos that dealt table games. This number peaked at 81 in 2019. Today, there are 72 casinos in the Las Vegas market that deal at least one live table game.
Vegas Advantage Newsletter
We are able to create content like this because we visit every Las Vegas casino with table games at least once a year. We cover our findings in our Vegas Advantage Newsletter, which includes where to find all table games, as well as rules and minimum bets. You can find more information about that here.
Las Vegas Strip blackjack in the 2010’s
Last decade, the blackjack on the Las Vegas Strip was much different than it is today. Over 75% of the traditional blackjack tables paid 3:2. You could find $5 3:2 blackjack at several Strip casinos, like Excalibur, New York-New York, Riviera, Sahara and Stratosphere. Circus Circus had a $3 3:2 blackjack game.
As the decade moved on, so did these low limit games. Most became 6:5, while others went to $10 or $15. By the end of the 2010’s, the minimum bet for 3:2 blackjack moved to at least $15 at most casinos. Today, that number can be $25, $50, and $100.
During that same time, lower limit 3:2 blackjack tables were converted into 6:5 games. This started with party pits where women in bikinis or lingerie dealt bad blackjack games. Casinos eventually figured out that they did not need this type of enticement for 6:5 blackjack tables.
3:2 blackjack tables started disappearing from the Las Vegas Strip in 2014
By 2015, all Las Vegas Strip casinos dealt at least some 6:5 blackjack games. This started with Venetian in 2014. In 2015, Aria and Bellagio became the last Las Vegas Strip holdouts. Both changed all the blackjack games under $25 to 6:5 during that time. As you can see by the chart below, that seems to have led to a loss in Las Vegas Strip blackjack tables.
During the explosion of party pits, our count of Las Vegas Strip blackjack tables peaked at 1134. Our last survey in September 2022 found 855 blackjack tables on the Strip. That is not the lowest point. In 2021, before Resorts World opened, we only found 829 blackjack tables on the Strip.
While blackjack tables on the Strip disappear, many that remain have become 6:5 tables. Some casinos no longer deal any 3:2 blackjack. Circus Circus, Linq and O’Sheas are examples of this. Some others only deal 3:2 blackjack in the high limit salon, paying 6:5 on the entire casino floor.
In 2010, we found 720 blackjack tables on the Strip that paid 3:2. In our last survey, we only found 275. That number dropped every year from 2014 to 2021. It increased 14 tables over the past year.
Las Vegas Strip stand on soft 17 blackjack tables remain mostly unchanged
When we first started surveying blackjack tables in Las Vegas in 2010, we found 141 games on the Strip that stood on all 17’s. Over 12 years, that number became 113. All these tables pay 3:2.
All blackjack games that stand on soft 17 are only dealt in high limit salons today. About three years ago, Bellagio and MGM Grand removed these tables from its pits. Those were the last two casinos with this game on the floor in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Strip blackjack variants have changed substantially since 2010
There are nearly twice as many blackjack variant tables on the Las Vegas Strip today than there were in 2010. Most were Blackjack Switch back then. You could also find Double Attack Blackjack and Spanish 21. Other variants like Double Exposure, Down Under, Free Bet Blackjack, Player’s Choice 21, and Super Fun 21 came along.
Today, the only blackjack variants dealt on the Las Vegas Strip are Free Bet and related games, Blackjack Switch, Spanish 21, and Double Exposure. Blackjack Switch, Spanish 21 and Double Exposure combine for a total of six tables. The other 59 are Free Bet Blackjack and clones.
Downtown Las Vegas blackjack since 2010
The blackjack situation in downtown Las Vegas is much better than it is on the Strip. In 2010, the percentage of downtown Las Vegas blackjack tables that paid 3:2 was 73%. Most of the 6:5 tables were single deck at that time. Today, 66% of downtown Las Vegas blackjack tables pay 3:2. Nearly all use six decks.
The best year for 3:2 blackjack in downtown Las Vegas was 2011, as 6:5 single deck tables were replaced by six-deck 3:2 ones. At that time, 89% of downtown Las Vegas blackjack tables paid 3:2.
Most of the 59 6:5 blackjack tables that we found in downtown Las Vegas during our last survey were at Binion’s, Four Queens and Golden Nugget. The tables with “Blackjack Pays 3:2” signs at Binion’s and Four Queens require a $1 Bonus Spin side bet to get dealt a hand. The 6:5 games at Golden Nugget require $1 or $2, depending on the table. The 6:5 tables at Fremont also require a side bet. Six years ago, there were no Las Vegas blackjack tables that required a side bet.
Golden Nugget, once home to some of the best low limit blackjack rules in Las Vegas, no longer offers any 3:2 blackjack on its casino floor. It is only dealt in high limit. Binion’s and Four Queens offer no standard 3:2 blackjack games at all.
Most of the blackjack at these Fremont Street Experience casinos are unplayable. Several tables at these properties have the worst blackjack games in Las Vegas.
Best casinos to play blackjack in downtown Las Vegas
On the other hand, all blackjack pays 3:2 at El Cortez, Golden Gate, Plaza and The D. The only table at Downtown Grand that does not pay 3:2 has a $1 minimum bet.
In 2020, we found the first downtown Las Vegas blackjack table that stands on soft 17. Four of these games were installed in Circa’s high limit salon when it opened. These remain the only ones of its kind downtown.
All Free Bet Blackjack tables in downtown Las Vegas pay 3:2. Other variants include Double Up, Most Liberal 21 and Blackjack Switch.
Most Las Vegas blackjack tables still pay 3:2
Most downtown and locals blackjack games pay 3:2. This allows the 3:2 percentage covering the market to remain slightly over 50%.
