South Las Vegas Strip Blackjack Minimum Bets and Rules

The south end of the Las Vegas Strip consists of all casinos from Mandalay Bay up to Aria, MGM Grand, and Tropicana. The blackjack on this section of the Strip is among the worst on the Las Vegas Strip, value-wise, for low-limit players. Higher-limit blackjack players will find some of the best games here. All games listed below hit soft 17 unless otherwise noted.

There are eight casinos in this section. MGM Resorts owns seven of the eight. Tropicana is the other.

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South Las Vegas Strip blackjack by casino

We collected the following information in the summer of 2023. The minimum bet noted is our predicted lowest offered at the casino. This pertains to slower hours. Minimum bets may go up, sometimes drastically, during busier hours.

Best blackjack on the South Las Vegas Strip

The best blackjack is found in four high-limit salons in this section of the Strip. The games are double-deck and stand on all 17’s. Players may double down before and after splitting. The same casinos have a six-deck blackjack game that stands on all 17s. These games add surrender and re-split aces. The casinos with both games are Aria, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Park MGM. Tropicana deals the six-deck version. The minimum bet ranges from $100 to $500 for these games but can be more during busier times.

The pandemic affected table game hours at many casinos, especially high-limit salons. If you go to a casino to play a specific game, we recommend making sure that the pits or salon will be open at that time.

Aria

Aria hosts five different blackjack games. The casino’s eight-deck blackjack and Free Bet Blackjack pay 6:5 and start at $15 and $25. It takes $25 or $50 to get a traditional 3:2 game, depending on the time of day. This is six-deck blackjack that allows doubling down before and after splitting, surrendering, and re-splitting aces. Video blackjack pays 6:5 and starts at $5.

There is a $100 or $200 game in high-limit with these rules that also stands on all 17s. The other high-limit game is stand on all 17 double-deck. It typically has a $300 minimum. Doubling down before and after splitting is allowed.

Excalibur

There are three blackjack games at Excalibur. Players may choose between two 6:5 games for a $15 minimum. One is a standard eight-deck; the other is Free Bet Blackjack. The third game at Excalibur is a 3:2 eight-deck table for $25 or $50. It allows doubling down before and after splitting, as well as surrender and re-split aces. Video 6:5 blackjack is available with a $5 minimum bet.

Luxor

Blackjack starts at $15 at Luxor. There is a traditional 6:5 eight-deck game along with 6:5 Free Bet Blackjack. Luxor also offers a high-limit game that pays 3:2 and has a $500 minimum. The six-deck game has standard double-down rules, as well as surrender and re-split aces. The Luxor high-limit room is only open during peak hours.

Luxor hits soft 17 at all blackjack tables. There is $5 6:5 video blackjack by the cage.

Mandalay Bay

Mandalay Bay has five blackjack games. It takes $15 to play 6:5 games, available for both standard eight-deck and Free Bet Blackjack. A $50 3:2 six-deck table has standard double-down rules, plus surrender and re-split aces. There is a stand-on-all-17 game with these same rules. It has a $100 minimum. There is also a $100 double-deck game that stands on all 17s with doubling down allowed both before and after splitting. Video blackjack with a 6:5 payout starts at $3.

MGM Grand

There are five blackjack games at MGM Grand. Players must head to high-limit tables to get a game that stands on all 17’s. One of these is a double-deck table with a $500 minimum bet. It allows a double-down before or after splitting. A $300 six-deck game adds the option to surrender or re-split aces. A $50 3:2 game on the floor has these rules as well but hits on soft 17. There is also $25 6:5 blackjack and 6:5 Free Bet. There is also 6:5 video blackjack. It has a $5 minimum bet.

New York-New York

Blackjack starts at $15 at New York-New York. It pays 6:5, and players can choose between Free Bet Blackjack or a standard eight-deck game. A $25 minimum gets a 3:2 eight-deck that offers a double-down before and after splitting, as well as surrender and re-split aces.

For $100, there’s a six-deck high-limit table with these rules. There is also a $100 3:2 double-deck table in high-limit, with doubling down allowed before and after splitting. All New York-New York blackjack games, including in high-limit, hit soft 17. Stadium and video blackjack have a $5 minimum.

Park MGM

Park MGM has five blackjack games. Starting at $15, there is a 6:5 eight-deck game that allows a double-down before and after splitting. Free Bet Blackjack also pays 6:5 and is available for $15. A $25 minimum gets a 3:2 six-deck that offers a double-down before and after splitting, as well as surrender and re-split aces. These tables are in front of the high-limit salon.

The $100 3:2 games are double-deck that allows a double-down before and after splitting and six-deck that adds surrender and re-split aces. Both high-limit games stand on a soft 17. Video blackjack with a 6:5 payout starts at $5.

Tropicana

Tropicana requires $25 for a 3:2 game, depending on the time of day. It is double-deck that permits doubling down before and after splitting and re-splitting aces. The high-limit game is a six-deck that stands on all 17s. This game adds surrender. The high-limit game is only available upon request. The other blackjack games pay 6:5, and it is usually $15 to play. There is $3 6:5 video blackjack to the left of the cage.

South Las Vegas Strip blackjack by type of game

Double deck games

The 3:2 double deck games dealt on the South Strip allow double down before and after splitting.

Stand on soft 17

$100 minimum

Mandalay Bay
Park MGM

$300 minimum

Aria

$500 minimum

MGM Grand

Hits soft 17

$25 minimum

Tropicana

$100 minimum

New York-New York*

*only open during peak hours

Six-deck stand on soft 17 games

The following 3:2 six-deck games stand on soft 17 and allow players to double down before and after splitting. Surrender is also available. Re-split aces is available.

$100 minimum

Aria
Mandalay Bay
Park MGM
Tropicana*

$300 minimum

MGM Grand

*only open during peak hours

Six- and eight-deck hit soft 17 games

The following 3:2 six- and eight-deck games hit a soft 17 and allow players to double down before and after splitting.

Re-split aces with surrender available

$25 minimum

New York-New York
Park MGM

$50 minimum

Aria
Excalibur
Mandalay Bay
MGM Grand

$500 minimum

Luxor*

*only open during peak hours or upon request

Cannot re-split aces. Surrender not available

$25 minimum

Tropicana*

Six- and eight-deck 6:5 blackjack games

Shoe games that pay 6:5 on blackjack were found at all eight casinos on the south end of the Strip.

Excalibur – $15
Luxor – $15
Mandalay Bay – $15
New York-New York – $15
Park MGM – $15
Tropicana – $15
Aria – $15 or $25
MGM Grand – $25

On the south end of the Strip, electronic blackjack games that pay 6:5 on blackjack were found at all eight casinos.

Mandalay Bay – $3
Tropicana – $3
Aria – $5
Excalibur – $5
Luxor – $5
MGM Grand – $5
New York-New York – $5
Park MGM – $5

Free Bet Blackjack 6:5

Free Bet Blackjack is by far the most popular blackjack variant in Las Vegas. The house edge on the 3:2 game is about 1%. It is about 2.4% at 6:5 games. All Las Vegas Strip Free Bet Blackjack pays 6:5.

The player gets a free double down on 9, 10 and 11. Pairs that do not have a value of 10 may be split for free. To offset this, the dealer pushed on 22.