Another Henderson casino dropped live table games. Pass Casino replaced its pit with slot and video poker machines this week. It became the latest casino in the area to give up on table games. Pass Casino offered blackjack, craps, and roulette. It was the only downtown Henderson casino with table games. Now, all three Water Street casinos are slots-only.
We found no electronic table games in the area during recent visits except those on Game King machines. Reports indicate Pass Casino did not replace the live tables with any electronic versions.
The news was first reported on Twitter by @RayLV702 and confirmed by @RandoShadow.
About one year ago, nearby Club Fortune dropped table games. In 2020, Fiesta Henderson and Eastside Cannery closed and never reopened. In June 2020, Jokers Wild and Longhorn Casino reopened without table games that were on the floor when gaming establishments were forced to close in March 2020 as part of Nevada’s pandemic response.
The closest casino to Pass with table games is Skyline on Boulder Highway. It deals blackjack five nights a week. Sunset Station and Railroad Pass are the closest with larger pits that deal multiple games.
The Las Vegas market has 73 casinos with live table games
In March 2020, there were 80 casinos with live table games. Today, there are 73. There are four new casinos with tables; Circa, Resorts World, Durango, and Fontainebleau. The pandemic closure or changes due to it closed 11 table game pits in the Las Vegas market. Eastside Cannery, Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, and Texas Station closed in March 2020 and never reopened. Silver Nugget closed in 2023. When it reopened after the pandemic closure, it no longer had table games.
Bighorn, Casino Royale, Jokers Wild, Longhorn, and Lucky Club reopened without tables and never brought them back. Lucky Club rebranded to Ojos Locos in 2023, which is still slots-only.
Club Fortune reopened in June 2020 with tables but removed them in November 2022. Pass Casino opened in 2021 in the old Eldorado building and dealt table games for almost three years before stopping.
Dealing low-limit table games does not make economic sense
The casinos that dropped table games had one thing in common. The minimum bets were generally $5 or lower. Most only dealt games that don’t require licensing, like blackjack, craps, and roulette. Some only dealt blackjack.
Live table games require labor beyond dealers. There are breakers, supervisors, and additional surveillance jobs involved. There is also the expense of cards, chips, and maintaining tables and seating.
A $5 3/2 blackjack game only generates about $3 in revenue per player hour at the minimum bet when basic strategy is used. A full table of $5 players does not cover the labor of the dealer and breaker, much less other employees and beverage service. The other table games are only a little better in terms of house revenue.
Another issue is the lack of available dealers. Las Vegas job listings are full of casinos hoping to hire dealers. It seems like the job fell out of favor after the pandemic. It did not help small casinos when large new ones opened and lured staff away.
Las Vegas may be unable to support more than about 70 casinos with table games because of the labor shortage and expenses dealing the games. The minimum bets players are willing to make in some neighborhoods don’t match what is needed to turn a profit. The days of 80 or more casinos in the market dealing live games are probably over forever.
