We have been collecting Las Vegas blackjack data since 2011. I started by walking the Las Vegas Strip and the downtown casino area every December. In 2012, I added Palms and Red Rock Resort. In 2014, Orleans joined the list. By 2016, nearly all locals casinos were entered into my database of Las Vegas blackjack tables.
December is the perfect time of the year to do this work. I head out after the National Finals Rodeo leaves town and finish before the Christmas holidays start. The weather is cool enough to make walking several miles each day a pleasant part of the job.
Kristina Mehaffey, my wife, is a data guru. She puts the information I gather into spreadsheets. I then write content based on the information that I collected, and that Kristina has organized, to put together a guide for Las Vegas blackjack players.
Here’s what it involves. I go into every casino and count the number of blackjack tables. I categorize the games by minimum and maximum bets, the number of decks, and the house’s blackjack rules, such as whether it pays 3:2 or 6:5, allows doubling down after splitting, surrender, and re-splitting aces one or several times. I also count the blackjack variants. I talk to dealers to confirm rules changes and obtain other insight about the games.
This data shows many trends over the past decade. It shows when the 6:5 contagion hit the Strip. It also shows when other favorable rules, such as being able to split aces more than once, started disappearing.
The Las Vegas Blackjack Museum, our data repository, will cover all these topics. The data gives great insight as to how the game has evolved throughout the market. Kristina will generate dozens of graphs to help tell the story.
The Las Vegas Blackjack Museum will be a continuing effort. I will add articles to it throughout the spring and summer.
Las Vegas Blackjack Museum Articles
Below is a list of articles that help cover the history of Las Vegas blackjack. When complete, it will show how blackjack has changed over the past decade.
Current Las Vegas Blackjack Variants
This article shows all the available blackjack variants currently available in the Las Vegas market. Free Bet Blackjack is the most popular. However, there are 10 other options beyond the traditional games.
Las Vegas Blackjack-Variant Graveyard
New table games come and go. Some become the next big deal, so to speak. Others disappear, never to be seen again. This section covers all the blackjack variants that have been dealt in Las Vegas since 2011 but are no longer available.
Last Updated on March 10, 2022 by John Mehaffey