The following is a list of blackjack variants that were once spread in Las Vegas but are no longer available. Most lasted a year or two. Some only made it through an initial testing period before becoming extinct.
We cover currently available Las Vegas blackjack variants on a separate page. You will find those variants here.
The chart below shows how many tables each game listed in the Las Vegas Blackjack Graveyard had during each year:
Bet ‘Em All Blackjack
Bet ‘Em All Blackjack was a variant spread at Fremont Casino in downtown Las Vegas. It appeared in our survey with two tables in 2016. It went up to six tables in 2017. By 2018, these tables were gone.
The game allowed players to back up bets belonging to other players at the table. This is common in Europe. However, it did not seem to catch on in Las Vegas. The company that developed the game says that it is still available at casinos in Arizona and Mississippi.
Burn 20
Burn 20 was a blackjack variant at Binion’s. It was there in 2011 and 2012. Burn 20 made it so that the dealer never started with a hard 20. If the dealer had a 10-value card up, the hand would be checked for a hard 20. If the dealer had a hard 20, the hand was pitched and redrawn. At this point, the dealer would check again for a hard 20. After the first hard 20 discard, blackjack would be added to the hands that are discarded. This prevented the player from going against a worse hand than the first.
Once the dealer was known to not have a hard 20, the hand would begin. The dealer would keep an ace and a 9 (a soft 20) at any time. To offset this rule, the house pushed all players that did not bust or have a blackjack when the dealer drew to 22.
Change It 21
Change It 21 was at Fremont Casino in downtown Las Vegas from 2014 to 2017. It was a 6:5 blackjack game that allowed a player to make a discard after the dealer checked for blackjack. The cost was 50 percent of the original bet. On a $10 game, it would cost $5 to replace a card. This could be done before and after a split. Blackjacks hit by changing a card always won because the dealer had already checked for blackjack.
Double Attack Blackjack
Double Attack Blackjack is the only game that appeared in all our surveys through 2020 without ever being spread on more than two tables. In 2011, you could find the game at El Cortez and Bally’s. El Cortez dropped it in about 2013. The Bally’s game disappeared in 2020.
Double Attack Blackjack had one of the lowest house edges of any variant. However, the variant’s strategy was complicated.
The game used a Spanish Blackjack deck, meaning the tens, but not the face cards, were removed from the deck. The dealer received the first card face-up. The player could then double the original bet based on this information. Blackjack paid even money. Doubling down and surrendering were permitted at any time.
Down Under Blackjack
Down Under Blackjack was at Excalibur. I first saw it there in 2018. It was the only installation in Las Vegas before its demise. Blackjack paid 6:5.
The dealer checked for blackjack, if it was a possibility, at the start. After that, a machine determined the card the dealer had in the hole. It told the player if that hole card was a 2 to 5, 6 to 9, or ten and ace. The player could use this information to vary his strategy. In exchange for this, the dealer pushed all live hands on a 22.
Player’s Choice 21
Player’s Choice Blackjack made an appearance at Venetian around 2013 and lasted about a year. The player made two bets. Three cards were dealt. The player turned this into two blackjack hands, using one of the cards twice. The game came with a forced three-card bonus bet, and the original bet and the bonus bet had to be equal.
Power Blackjack
Power Blackjack was in the first survey in 2011 at Paris Las Vegas with one table, remaining in our survey through 2013. On 10 and 11, a player could discard the first double-down card received and draw a new card. The player could also split any hard 15 or 16. The dealer pushed all live hands if it drew 22.
Quick Pay 21
I first saw Quick Pay 21 at Planet Hollywood in December 2019. It disappeared in 2021. The game has two bets. One is a traditional blackjack wager, while the other is a surrender-or-play bet.
A player can choose to collect even money on a 20 or an amount of half the original bet on 19. A player may choose to push on 18. The play-or-surrender bet pushes if the player takes the guaranteed money. Otherwise, the hand plays on as normal, except that there is a side bet on whether the dealer with make an 18 or better, and the dealer pushes all live hands on any 17. If the player does not take the guaranteed money, called a Quick Pay, the flat bet and surrender-or-play bet are combined and play as a normal blackjack wager.
Super Fun 21
Super Fun 21 was last seen at Sam’s Town in 2023. It was a game that added many player-friendly rules but paid even money on most blackjack. Suited diamonds paid double. Super Fun 21 peaked at 14 tables in Las Vegas in the late 2010s. Only one table remained after 2021 before it finally disappeared from Sam’s Town.
Triple Attack Blackjack
Triple Attack Blackjack made an appearance at Harrah’s on the Las Vegas Strip for a couple of years. I found it there in 2012 and 2013. It has not been available since.
The game used eight Spanish 21 decks, which are decks without tens but with all the face cards. The player made a first-attack bet before receiving a card. The player could then make a second attack bet after receiving his cards. The dealer’s door card would then be exposed, and the player could then make a third attack bet. Doubling down or splitting was available, but the player had to wager the cumulative amount from all three attack bets.
To make up for these great rules, there were two negatives. Blackjack only paid even money, and the dealer pushed all live hands with 22.
War Blackjack
War Blackjack was a side bet that was incorporated into the game. The side bet was optional, so players that did not make it played a normal blackjack game. Those that did played a game of war with the dealer, with ace playing low. The player and dealer would receive an up card. The dealer won ties. If the player won, the bet and winnings could be parlayed with the original blackjack bet. This was also optional, and it was dependent on the player’s hand and dealer’s door card.
War Blackjack first showed up in the 2014 survey. It was at Excalibur, The D and Tropicana. Plaza eventually added it, and that’s where the game was last seen in Las Vegas, in 2018.
Zappit 21
Zappit 21 appeared at Palazzo around 2016 as a 3:2 blackjack game. It was gone from there after a year but then popped up at Green Valley Ranch and Excalibur as a 6:5 game. By 2018, it was no longer spread in Las Vegas.
If a player was dealt a 15, 16, or 17 in Zappit 21, the player could choose to discard both cards and receive a new hand. This was always the correct strategy, regardless of what door card the dealer had. The dealer pushed live hands on 22.
Zombie Blackjack
Zombie Blackjack first appeared in Las Vegas in 2017. Binion’s, Four Queens, and Venetian spread it. Zombie Blackjack only stuck around about a year at those casinos. Red Rock picked it up in 2018. Blackjack paid 6:5 there. Like the others, Zombie Blackjack only lasted about a year at Red Rock. The game may only be found at online casinos these days.
Thank you to Wizard of Odds for the refresher on some of the old games.
Last Updated on January 18, 2024 by Kristina Mehaffey