Rio Hotel & Casino launched Penn & Teller Casino Monte on March 3, 2025. It is the first table game named after celebrities. Vegas Advantage was invited to cover the game’s introduction. Penn & Teller were the stars of the show.
The game uses at least six decks. This allows unusual hands like a suited three of a kind.
Penn & Teller Casino Monte is like a cross of Casino War and Three Card Poker. Players choose one betting spot out of the three marked P, &, or T. An optional Full Monte side bet is available. The minimum bet is $10.
Once bets are made, a die is rolled in a cup. If it is a 1 or 2, the Penn card is shown. A 3 or 4 exposes the & card, and a 5 or 6 turns the Teller card up. At this point, players may check or raise one, two, or three times the bet. The other two cards are then exposed.
How the winner is determined
If the board doesn’t make a pair, the highest card wins. Aces play high. If the board pairs, the highest card still wins, but if the pair is higher than the other card, both corresponding spots win. Otherwise, the singleton spot is paid. These winning bets pay even money. This includes any raises.
If the board makes three of a kind, all three spots win. Raises win even money. The original bet is paid 3/1.
Casino Monte strategy
Penn & Teller Casino Monte’s strategy is simple. If the card you bet is on the exposed card, raise three times if it is a jack or higher. Otherwise, check. If your card is not exposed, raise three times if the face-up card is a five or lower. Otherwise, check. Never raise single or double. The proper play is always check or bet triple. The house advantage when accounting for raising is just over 2%.
Source: Wizard of Odds
Full Monte side bet
The Full Monte side bet is optional. It pays based on the strength of the three-card board. Since six decks are used, suited trips are possible. The $10 minimum applies to the side bet. The house edge is about 6%. It uses the following paytable:
- Suited three of a kind: 100
- Straight flush: 25
- Three of a kind: 10
- Straight: 5
- Flush: 3
- Pair: 1
Penn & Teller Casino Monte video
Vegas Advantage was at the unveiling of the game. We took this video of the unveiling. It includes Penn & Teller doing a couple of magic tricks, the second time with an explanation.
Game previously at Luxor
In November 2023, Vegas Advantage found Casino Monte in the Luxor pit. It didn’t have the Penn & Teller branding. Its rules were identical to the Rio game. The only difference is the Luxor game had colored betting circles. At Rio, these spots are P, &, and T, to match the Penn & Teller concept. The game left Luxor around the end of 2023.
Rio improved video poker paytables
During this visit and a previous one, we discovered full-pay Jacks or Better, 8/5 Bonus Poker, and 9/7 Double Bonus Poker on 12 machines. These games all return over 99%. Eight are in front of the sportsbook bar. This bank has $0.25, $0.50, $1, $2, and $5 denominations.
A second bank of four machines has these games. The only denomination is quarter. These same machines have 97-98% returns for $0.05 and $0.10 denominations. Only five coins are needed for a full-pay royal flush.
When a paytable is described as 9/6, that means a full house pays nine coins for every one wagered and a flush pays six. The full house and flush payouts typically determine the return of non-wild card video poker games.
