Virgin Casino, with its gaming partner Mohegan Sun, opened last night in Las Vegas. It replaced the Hard Rock Casino that closed after the Super Bowl in 2020.
Virgin operates the hotel and other amenities. Mohegan Sun operates the casino. Some will call the property Virgin Casino, while others will say it is Mohegan Sun Casino. The Mohegan Sun branding is used in the casino.
I parked in the Paradise deck. It was nearly empty so it was easy to get in and out.
The corridor to the casino is mostly vacant. There were several empty retail spots. Once entering the casino floor, the first thing I noticed was the video poker bar on the left was walled off.
The first section of the floor from this direction includes slots and video poker. There are two table game pits in the area. One was just opening as I arrived.
The large bar in this area is also missing from when it was Hard Rock Casino. There are two other table game pits in this area.
Betfred sportsbook
The next stop was the Betfred sportsbook. It is not open yet. I was told that the company is still waiting on approval of its gaming license.
Mohegan Sun Las Vegas high limit table games
The high limit table game area is in the rear of the casino, just like it was at Hard Rock. Players may choose from four different table games in the salon.
Single zero roulette starts at $50. There are two $100 blackjack games in the salon. One is six-deck that stands on all 17’s. Players may double down before and after splitting, as well as surrender and re-split aces into four hands. The double deck game hits soft 17 and allows double down before and after splitting.
There is also $100 baccarat. The maximum bet was $5,000 in high limit.
The high limit table game room has a semi-private gaming section. There are two baccarat tables in there. Neither were open during my visit this morning.
Mohegan Sun Casino table games
I found nine different table games on the Mohegan Sun Casino floor. All blackjack paid 3:2 during my visit. The minimum bet on the floor for blackjack was $25. Players could choose between double deck, six-deck, Spanish 21 and Free Bet Blackjack. The maximum bet was either $1,000 or $2,000, depending on the table.
In the double deck game, players can double down before and after splitting. The six-deck game adds re-split aces up to four hands. Most tables have automatic shufflers and are dealt out of a shoe. Spanish 21 uses a continuous shuffling machine.
Craps and crapless craps are available. The minimums were $15 and $25 during my visit. Craps odds are 3-4-5 times. The field pays double on 12.
Double zero roulette had $10 to $1,000 limits. There is no triple zero roulette at Mohegan Sun Casino in Las Vegas.
Three Card Poker and Face Up Pai Gow Poker are the other two table games available. Three Card Poker was not open, but I predict it is $10, $15 at most. Face Up Pai Gow Poker was $25 at the new Virgin/Mohegan Sun Casino.
Mohegan Sun Las Vegas video poker
There is a large selection of video poker for a casino of this size. The best game I found was at the $1 denomination on machines in front of the high limit slots area. It is 9/7 Double Bonus, which returns 99.11% with five coins and perfect play. The runner up was $1 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%). I also found 15/9 Deuces Wild there (98.91%).
The quarter and half-dollar games offered include 9/5 Double Double Bonus (97.87%) as the best that I found. Others include 9/6/5 Double Bonus (97.81%), 8/5 Jacks or Better (97.3%) and 6/5 Bonus Poker (96.87%). Some of the $1 games away from this bank also have these pay tables and not the ones above. The 8/5 Jacks or Better game is dealt for nickels on a bank of uprights between the video poker bar and cage.
There were several video poker variants. The denominations are nickel, dime and quarter for 25, 50 and 100-play games and quarter, half-dollar and dollar for most of the other variants.
Video poker variants I found at Virgin/Mohegan Sun Casino in Las Vegas
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- Three-play
- Five-play
- Ten-play
- 25-play
- 50-play
- 100-play
- Ultimate X
- Ultimate X Bonus Streak
- Split Card
- Powerhouse Poker
- Spin Poker
- Super Times Pay
- Double Super Times Pay
- Extra Draw Frenzy
- Deal Draw
High limit video poker
There are a few video poker machines in the high limit slot area. The denominations are $5, $10 and $25. The best game I found was 7/5 Bonus Poker. Other options include 9/6/5 Bonus Poker, 9/5 Double Double Bonus Poker and 8/5 Jacks or Better.
Two video poker bars
There are only two small video poker bars on the entire property. This morning, they were both mostly full. One is by the casino cage. The other is in the high limit table game area. The high limit machines had denominations as low as a quarter. I could not get on a machine at the other bar but it seemed like all bar video poker is identical. The pay tables are similar to the quarter and half-dollar games described above for all bar limits.
The bar not in high limit has some blackjack tables in it that were not open. There is also an old school tabletop arcade game.
What about slots?
I am not a slots expert. However, I can tell that there is a large variety of modern slot titles. Most of the machines are of the video penny variety. I did not see many old-style reels.
My impression
Virgin and Mohegan Sun teamed up for a much nicer casino than Hard Rock had. It felt more inviting, and the employees seemed genuinely excited about the opening. The table game limits may be a bit higher than people were expecting. However, Circa did the same and settled into lower limits at slower times.
I think Virgin and Mohegan Sun can pull off a successful business from what I saw. It will take some marketing to get the word out as its location is not conducive to foot traffic. From what I have seen of these groups in other markets, they have the expertise to accomplish that.
I think that the casino floor needs another video poker bar. Otherwise, I think it is a good mix of fair games considering its targeted visitor.
I wish everyone at Virgin and Mohegan Sun the best in their new adventure.
Virgin Hotel and Mohegan Sun Casino Las Vegas photo gallery
