For years, Vegas Advantage has reported on downtown Las Vegas casinos with forced side bets. Four casinos around the Fremont Street Experience deal a total of 11 table games that require a $1, $2, or $5 side bet. On February 20, 2026, Vegas Advantage found the first example of this on the Las Vegas Strip.
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We were surveying the south end of the Las Vegas Strip when we found this blackjack table at New York-New York:
The minimum bet is displayed as $7. The main bet has a $5 minimum bet. Players are required to bet at least $2 on the side bet. The options are Buster Blackjack and Fortune, which is like Lucky Lucky and 19+.
Buster Blackjack pays players when the dealer busts. The more cards it takes, the higher the payout. Fortune pays players based on hands 19 and higher, with bonuses for unusual scenarios. Here are the paytables shown on the felt:
Buster Blackjack
- 8+ card bust: 200
- 7: 50
- 6: 12
- 5: 6
- 4: 2
- 3: 1
Fortune
- Suited 777: 200
- Suited 678: 100
- Unsuited 777: 50
- Unsuited 678: 30
- Suited 21: 10
- Unsuited 21: 3
- Any 20: 2
- Any 19: 1
Several payouts are lower than normal. Wizard of Odds does not have this Buster Blackjack paytable computed. The probabilities were used with the new figures. The house edge is about 19.48%. A $1 side bet holds $0.195 per hand, on average. A $2 one holds $0.39.
The Fortune paytable was also worse than typical ones. It holds 12.57%. A $1 bet holds $0.126 per hand, on average. A $2 one holds $0.251.
The main game pays 6:5, allows doubling down before and after splitting, surrender, and re-splitting aces. The dealer hits soft 17 and uses a continuous shuffling machine. This game holds 1.82% with perfect play. A $5 bet theoretically loses $0.091 per hand.
Average loss per hand depends on side bet configuration
The $5 main bet loses $0.091 per hand. Here is the expected loss per hand based on whether the player bets $2 on a single side bet or splits it with $1 on each:
- $5 main bet + $2 on Buster Blackjack side bet expected loss: $0.481
- $5 main bet + $1 on Buster Blackjack and $1 on Fortune: $0.412
- $5 main bet + $2 on Fortune: $0.342
Here is the house edge for each one of those bets based on a $7 total wager:
- $5 main bet + $2 on Buster Blackjack side bet expected loss: 6.87%
- $5 main bet + $1 on Buster Blackjack and $1 on Fortune: 5.89%
- $5 main bet + $2 on Fortune: 4.89%
This is the worst Las Vegas Strip blackjack game
Previously, the worst Las Vegas Strip blackjack game was 6:5 Free Bet Blackjack, dealt at nearly all casinos in that segment. That game holds 2.4%. All three side bet combinations on the New York-New York $7 game are at least twice as bad as 6:5 Free Bet Blackjack.
It comes in second or fourth place overall for the worst Las Vegas blackjack, depending on the side bet picked
While this game is terrible, some downtown ones are worse. Golden Nugget deals 6:5 Lucky Cat Blackjack with a required $2 Bonus Spin side bet. That game holds about 8.95% at the minimum bet. Golden Nugget’s $10 plus $2 Bonus Spin holds 5.5%. The mandatory $1 side bet $5 games at Binion’s also hold 5.5%. These are the worst Las Vegas blackjack games.
Players who only bet the Fortune side bet at the New York-New York game get a slightly better deal than the 5.5% games. However, those who split the side bet up between Buster and Fortune, or bet $2 on Buster, are worse than all but one of the downtown blackjack games.
Golden Nugget deals a different $5+2 blackjack game when the Lucky Cat pit is closed. It holds 8% at the minimum bet. Since the two games are never open at the same time, we considered it one game for the purposes of ranking the blackjack games.
Play the $10 6:5 blackjack game at New York-New York instead
New York-New York deals $10 6:5 blackjack. It does not require a side bet. The house edge is 1.82%, making the theoretical loss per hand $0.182. Play this game instead to save at least $0.16 per hand.
Alternatively, New York-New York deals 3:2 blackjack for $15 or $25, depending on the time of day. The expected loss per hand at these tables is even lower than the $10 6:5 game. It is about $0.07 at the $15 game and $0.12 on the $25 one.
Last Updated on March 24, 2026 by John Mehaffey
