Blackjack at The Palazzo and The Venetian. A little more research for my trip to Las Vegas brings me to blackjack. Blackjack on the Las Vegas strip over the past couple of years has gone from paying out 3:2 to 6:5 for blackjack in many casinos. For example; the Harrah’s properties seem to exclusively only pay out 6:5 on blackjack. A few more caveats: Wynn and Encore are separate hotels as are Venetian and Palazzo. The casinos within these two pairs are often each considered to be one casino, but since they are in different buildings and connected by long walkways, we've separated them here. Crazy 4 Poker, free-bet blackjack, Casino War, blackjack switch, Big 6. The bean counters choose #2 every time. This means lower odds, and payouts. H17 blackjack. 6-5 blackjack. Video poker that went from full pay 9/6, to 8/6 to 8/5 to 7/5. Slot machines that pay out at lower rate. Roulette with triple 000? Blackjack paying even money? More carnival games? Best penny slots at casinos. Venetian and Palazzo introduce 6-to-5 payouts USPoker.com reports that the Las Vegas Sands company has put through the extremely unfavourable 6-to-5 payout rule at the Venetian and Palazzo casinos. As mentioned before, replacing the standard 3-to-2 payout for a natural blackjack with a 6-to-5 payout greatly damages a player’s chances of walking out with a profit.
Las Vegas Sands is a vocal opponent of regulated online gaming in the U.S. The company created the Coalition to Stop Online Gambling to lobby its cause. The company that does not want Americans to play $1 hands of online blackjack with favorable payouts has slashed player returns on most of its Las Vegas blackjack games.
^ Needham, Kristy., ', Australia, 23 March 2014. Paying tax on gambling winnings australia money.
If your initial two cards total 21, any Ace with a 10, Jack, Queen, or King, you have a Blackjack. Blackjack is paid either 6 to 5 or 3 to 2 depending on the type of Blackjack you are playing. In 21, the player has many options to choose from: Splitting Pairs. Second Worst Blackjack Game in Las Vegas. It is Free Bet Blackjack that pays 6-5. Free Bet Blackjack gives the player free splits and double downs. The dealer pushes on 22 to offset this rule. The game was rolled out with a 3-2 payout everywhere except Casino Royale, which paid 6-5 from the first day.
Venetian and Palazzo added a placard to all traditional shoe blackjack games on the main casino floor disclosing that all natural blackjacks now pay just 6-5. This rule change was enacted last week. This makes these two Las Vegas Sands properties among the worst places to play six-deck blackjack on the Strip.
The move affected over 50 tables between the two casinos, but spared Free Bet Blackjack, double deck, high limit, and video blackjack. Players looking for a 3-2 six-deck blackjack game at Venetian or Palazzo will need to visit the high limit salon where the minimum bet is at least $100 and often in the $200 range.
A payout of 6-5 means that a player dealt a natural blackjack will only receive $12 for every $10 wagered. The payout on a traditional 3-2 blackjack would pay $15 for every $10 wagered. The house advantage on a 6-5 blackjack game is 1.39% higher than that of a 3-2 game. This is why BJ21.com describes 6-5 blackjack as a game to avoid.
The only other casino in Las Vegas that pays 6-5 on all traditional shoe blackjack games is O’Sheas, which is more of a bar with a party pit than a casino. Casino Royale does not have any 3-2 blackjack games, but it only spreads Free Bet Blackjack and Blackjack Switch.
Casinos started rolling out 6-5 blackjack games in single deck form. This offset some of the concerns card counters caused. Most party pits, where women are often scantily clad, also spread 6-5 games. It is rare to find these low payouts in traditional casino pits. Most casinos that spread these short-pay games will also offer 3-2 games with the same or slightly higher minimum bet at other tables on the main floor. Venetian and Palazzo do not.
Regulated Online Casinos Offer Better Payouts
Regulated online casino sites in New Jersey and Delaware offer blackjack with minimums of $1. The house edge on these games is about .5%.
The new Las Vegas Sands’ blackjack rules place the house advantage at 1.98%, according to a blackjack calculator at Wizard of Odds. (Rules: Six decks, dealer hits soft 17, double any two cards, double after splitting, no resplit aces, no surrender, 6-5 blackjack)
While online blackjack games offer higher returns to players than most Venetian and Palazzo tables, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson is “morally opposed” to it. During an interview with Bloomberg Television, Adelson described online gambling as “a train wreck, it’s a toxicity, it’s a cancer waiting to happen”.
Effect of 6-5 Blackjack on Players
The Venetian often posts a minimum bet of $15. Some of the 6-5 shoe tables have a minimum bet of $25. A player betting $15 per hand now theoretically loses approximately $.30 every hand, as opposed to about $.09 per hand at a 3-2 table. A $25 bettor loses about $.50 per hand on average at a 6-5 game, compared to $.15 per hand at a 3-2 table with the same rules. This assumes basic strategy is followed, something that is likely lost on players that would sit at a 6-5 shoe game.
Deviation from perfect play grows the house edge substantially. Wizard of Odds states the house edge of a player that refuses to hit a stiff hand is 3.91% when playing a 3-2 blackjack game. A player that always hits a hand of 16 or less gives up a house advantage of 5.48%, while a player that always assumes the dealer has a 10 in the hole gives the house an advantage of more than 10%. The 6-5 blackjack rule adds 1.39% to the edge in all of these scenarios.
Certainly not. Aside from the fact that he undoubtedly has other functions to perform there he surely can not comment upon any aspect of his employer's business.
Strange. Did you do that 100 a hand BJ for their magic four hours?
Who did you approach prior to checking out? They have a credit desk next to their lowest craps table and its best to 'drop by' and speak to whoever is on duty there awhile before checking out if you don't have an actual host.
Does anybody know if they are still not sending mailers to low to mid level players? I am going to be going to Vegas in November, and plan on playing some green chip blackjack. I would like to stay at the Venetian, but I would like to get some mailers for my play where I stay (I have only been to Vegas once, and barely gambled since I was there a short time and mainly wanted to see the sights.)
I played 60/hand PGP (minimum; I go up from there when I win) for 14 hours over 3 days, over 2 months ago. I've never heard from them. Don't know if that's long enough, but I would have expected to hear from them by now if I were going to.
I knew about the Venetian blackjack dropping to 6:5, but the blackjack survey here says there is a double deck game with a $25 minimum that I was hoping actually existed.. If not, then that would be the final nail in the coffin.