Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack
.All $5 multi-deck games on the Strip will hit on Soft 17. So what’s the best value blackjack on the Las Vegas Strip? If you play good basic strategy and bet the table minimum, then out of the places I’ve mentioned you’ll lose the least amount of money over the long haul by playing the $10 minimum 6-deck at MGM Grand. In fact, you would. Five Dollar Blackjack on the Las Vegas Strip. Posted on January 26, 2007 We set out to find the best place to find cheap blackjack in Las Vegas for $5.00. After arriving in Vegas one Saturday evening in January and filling our bellies with the Rio Buffet, we set out on our mission. Make Offer - MGM Grand $5.00 House Mold Brown Casino Chip Las Vegas Nevada 1970 Lot 4 MGM GRAND $5 Casino Chips Las Vegas Nevada Orig Poker Gambling Red Yellow $89.30.
- Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack No Deposit
- Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack Slot Machine
- Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack Coin
- Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack Slots
Las Vegas reopened on June 4, 2020 after a 78-day closure. A total of 62 casinos in the market are now open. Of those, 16 are on the Strip and 10 in downtown Las Vegas.
Most of the casinos that reopened look the same as before the shutdown. However, there are a few changes.
What changed at Las Vegas blackjack since the COVID-19 closure
The most notable changes for Las Vegas blackjack since the shutdown occurred at Casino Royale and Circus Circus.
Casino Royale removed all table games. Blackjack Switch originated there. The only place to find that game right now is at Sahara. The loss of table games at Casino Royale also put an end to the last consistent $5 craps and roulette tables on the Las Vegas Strip.
Circus Circus left its table games on the floor but has not opened any yet. It installed a stadium gaming setup over about one-quarter of the main pit. It offers $5 6:5 blackjack and double zero roulette. The pit at the top of the stairs is now slots. The 6:5 video blackjack machine was moved to Slots A Fun.
Flamingo removed a pit to expand electronic table games. That video pit includes 6:5 blackjack, craps and double zero roulette. The minimum bet for each is $5. Other new electronic gaming includs new stadium setups at The Strat, a second stadium gaming area at Treasure Island, as well as new ones at Encore and Bellagio.
Single and double deck blackjack games that were dealt as a pitch, meaning face down, are now all face up with two exceptions. Flamingo and Harrah’s still deal its double deck games as a pitch.
The other major changes involve social distancing. All casinos must cap the number of players at a blackjack table to three. Every other seat must be turned off on a video blackjack or any other machine.
All MGM Resorts properties that are open have plexiglass at blackjack tables. The open properties are Bellagio, MGM Grand and New York-New York. Tuscany also has plexiglass at blackjack tables.
Wynn, Encore, El Cortez and Ellis Island place these partitions at about half the tables. This gives players the option of sitting at one with plexiglass or not.
All Caesars Entertainment casinos require facemasks at table games. Players may remove the mask to have a drink. Smokers must leave the table.
Minimum bet required for a 3:2 blackjack game at major Las Vegas casino
The list below shows the minimum bet for each casino’s 3:2 blackjack tables during my visit in the days after Las Vegas casinos reopened. Binion’s is the only casino with table games that does not offer a traditional 3:2 blackjack game for any limit. The table games are closed at Casino Royale and Circus Circus.
All games are assumed to have double down before and after splitting with the dealer hitting soft 17 while dealing six or eight decks. Any variation from these rules is noted in parenthesis.
Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack No Deposit
$5 Blackjack
- Ellis island
- Golden Gate
- Plaza
- Rampart (surrender, re-split aces)
$10 Blackjack
- California (double deck, no double down after split)
- Downtown Grand (surrender, re-split aces)
- El Cortez (single deck no double after split, double deck and six-deck)
- Four Queens (double deck, no double down after split)
- Fremont (double deck and six-deck, no double down after split in either)
- Gold Coast
- Golden Nugget (surrender)
- Orleans
- Red Rock (six-deck has surrender, double deck)
- Suncoast (double deck and six-deck)
- The D
- The Strat (surrender, re-split aces)
- Tuscany
$15 Blackjack
- Harrah’s (surrender)
- MGM Grand (surrender, re-split aces)
- Sahara
$25 Blackjack
- Bellagio (surrender, re-split aces)
- Caesars Palace (surrender)
- Cosmopolitan (surrender, re-split aces)
- Encore (surrender, re-split aces)
- Flamingo (surrender)
- New York-New York (surrender, re-split aces)
- Palace Station (double deck)
- Treasure Island (double deck)
- Wynn (surrender, re-split aces)
$50 Blackjack
- Palazzo (double deck)
- Venetian (double deck)
Las Vegas reopening 3:2 blackjack rules by casino
Bellagio
It takes $25 to get a 3:2 blackjack game at Bellagio. It is a shoe with surrender and re-split aces. The game stands on all 17s in high limit for $100. There is also a $300 double deck that stands on all 17s.
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace deals an eight-deck game with surrender for $25. For $100, the game stands on all 17s. That game is in the high limit salon.
California
California in downtown Las Vegas specializes in double deck blackjack. The minimum bet is $10. Double down after splitting is not permitted.
Cosmopolitan
It takes $25 to get a 3:2 shoe game at Cosmopolitan. It has surrender and re-split aces. For $100, this game stands on all 17s in high limit.
Downtown Grand
Downtown Grand has a $10 six-deck blackjack game. Surrender and re-split aces are offered.
El Cortez
There are three $10 blackjack games at El Cortez. All pay 3:2. There is single deck that allows double down on the first two cards and not after splitting. The two and six-deck games have double down before and after splitting.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island has its pit open with typical limits. There was a $5 table with some $10 ones. All blackjack pays 3:2 at Ellis Island. Double down before and after splitting is permitted.
Flamingo
Flamingo has an eight-deck game with surrender and a $50 double deck with no double down after splitting. The double deck game is still dealt as a pitch.
Four Queens
The only real 3:2 blackjack game at Four Queens is a $10 double deck. It allows double down before but not after splitting. There are some tables marked with 3:2 payouts. These are not traditional games. A $1 side bet is required.
Fremont
Fremont has double deck and six-deck with no double down after the split. The minimum bet is $10.
Gold Coast
Gold Coast has $10 six-deck and $15 double deck. Both permit double down before and after splitting.
Golden Gate
Golden Gate had scattered eight-deck blackjack games with $5 and $10 limits. Players may double down before and after splitting. It is also home to a $10 3:2 Free Bet Blackjack table.
Golden Nugget
There are four 3:2 blackjack games at Golden Nugget. The $10 eight-deck allows surrender. There is $25 double deck with no double down after splitting. At $50, you can get double down after split in the double deck in high limit. There is a $100 six-deck game in high limit that has surrender and re-split aces.
Harrah’s
For $15, there is an eight-deck game with surrender. The $25 double deck is available. It does not allow double down after splitting. Caesars Entertainment properties are the only casinos in Las Vegas dealing this game as a pitch. The $100 high limit game, when open, is six decks. It stands on all 17s and has surrender.
MGM Grand
MGM Grand had a $15 shoe game with surrender and re-split aces during y visit. For $100, this game is spread in high limit with the dealer standing on all 17s. High limit also hosts a $300 double deck blackjack game that stands on all 17s.
New York-New York
The only open 3:2 blackjack game at New York-New York is an eight-deck. It has a $25 minimum bet. Surrender and re-split aces are allowed. The high limit salon has not yet opened.
Orleans
Orleans has a $10 double deck game that permits double down before and after splitting.
Palace Station
The only 3:2 blackjack game at Palace Station during my visit was $25 double deck. It has double down before and after splitting. The high limit salon was open but only dealing baccarat at the time. When blackjack is open, it has a $50 double deck with re-split aces and $100 six-deck that stands on all 17s with re-split aces and surrender. Video blackjack players will find a 3:2 $1 game by the pit.
Plaza
Plaza’s table game pit is open from 3pm to 1am during the first phase. Its blackjack games are $5 or $10 six-deck with double down before and after splitting. A $25 double deck game has the same rules.
Rampart
Rampart offers two blackjack games. There is a $5 six-deck game with surrender and re-split aces. There is $10 double deck game with double before and after split.
Red Rock
There are four 3:2 blackjack games at Red Rock. For $10, players may choose between double deck and six-deck. The six-deck has surrender. For $50, there is a double deck that adds re-split aces. The $100 six-deck game stands on all 17s. Players may surrender or re-split aces. The $50 and $100 games are in the high limit salon.
Sahara
Sahara requires $15 for its 3:2 shoe game. For $50, it is spread in high limit with surrender and re-split aces with the dealer standing on al 17s. Blackjack Switch was $5. Sahara is the only casino I found in Las Vegas since the reopening that spreads Blackjack Switch.
Suncoast
Suncoast players will find two $10 blackjack games. There is double deck and six-deck. Each allows double down before and after splitting.
The D
There are three 3:2 blackjack games at The D. For $10, players may choose between an eight-deck or Free Bet Blackjack. For $50, there is a double deck game in the high limit salon.
The Strat
There is a $10 shoe game that permits surrender and re-split aces. The $25 double deck has the standard double down before and after splitting.
Treasure Island
Treasure Island had the most unusual blackjack limits compared to normal times of any casino I visited. It requires $25 for a 3:2 double deck game. Double down before and after splitting is permitted. There is a 3:2 stadium blackjack game. It is $1 on weekdays and $3 on weekends. The high limit salon at Treasure Island is closed indefinitely.
Tuscany
The six-deck blackjack tables at Tuscany are $10. Double down before and after splitting are permitted. There is also a $1 3:2 video blackjack machine.
Wynn and Encore
Wynn and Encore require $25 for a 3:2 blackjack game. It is a shoe that allows surrender and re-split aces. For $100, it stands on all 17s in high limit. There is also a $50 double deck with double down before and after splitting.
Venetian and Palazzo
It takes $50 to get 3:2 blackjack at Venetian and Palazzo. That game is a double deck with double down before and after splitting. There is a six-deck shoe in high limit that stands on all 17s. It has surrender and re-split aces. Venetian and Palazzo are the only casinos in Las Vegas with Spanish 21. The minimum bet was $15 during my June 5 visit.
Future openings
Excalibur is expected to open on June 11. Its only 3:2 blackjack game is a shoe with surrender and re-split aces. I expect the minimum bet to be $25. It may be as low as $15.
Westgate will open on June 18. It typically takes $15 to get a 3:2 blackjack game there. It is a shoe with standard double down rules.
Oyo announced a July 1 reopening. It typically offers a $10 3:2 six-deck game.
Many gamblers know the origin story of Let It Ride, the quirky table game that seems to play out in reverse.
But just in case, here’s the Cliffs Notes version…
Back in 1983, former truck driver John Breeding found himself increasingly intrigued by news stories about blackjack card counters beating the casinos. Breeding wasn’t like most of us though, as his interests didn’t lie in joining the legions of aspiring card counters. No, he wanted to invent an automatic card shuffling machine to help casinos protect their bottom line from card counters – while lining his own pockets in the process.
Thus, Breeding spent the better part of a decade toying around with various prototypes until he perfected his Holy Grail – an automatic card shuffling machine that could be installed underneath any casino game table.
At the time, however, casinos were already getting ahead of the card counting curve by utilizing six- and eight-deck “shoes.” These multiple-deck shoes served their intended effect quite well, adding so many cards to the equation that counting became practically impossible in the casino setting.
Unfortunately, because his automatic shuffler was designed to randomize only one deck at a time, the multiple-deck shoes threatened to put Breeding’s new company Shuffle Master out of business before it even got off the ground.
After consulting his wife, who challenged Breeding to create a single-deck table game that would make his shuffling machines more attractive to casino operators, the inventor put together his masterpiece – Let It Ride.
Breaking Down Let It Ride’s Pay Table
The game proved to be an immediate hit with both casino managers and players alike. Casinos liked the fast pace of play, all the better to get more bets put in play, while players loved the multiple decision points and escalating pay table shown below:
Let It Ride Hands and Payouts
HAND | PAYOUT |
Royal Flush | 1,000 to 1 |
Straight Flush | 200 to 1 |
Four of a Kind | 50 to 1 |
Full House | 11 to 1 |
Flush | 8 to 1 |
Straight | 5 to 1 |
Three of a Kind | 3 to 1 |
Two Pair | 2 to 1 |
Tens or Better | 1 to 1 |
Anything Else | Loss |
With the potential to turn a $15 minimum bet – really a $5 minimum, but with all three Ante bets allowed to “ride” – into $15,000 when the elusive Royal Flush shows its face, Let It Ride offers a distinct jackpot element that gamblers crave.
Table game enthusiasts also enjoyed the reverse engineered gameplay. By requiring players to start out with three Ante bets, before deciding whether or not to let two of those wagers remain in play before showdown, Let It Ride flipped the script from traditional table game betting.
Seemingly overnight, Let It Ride spread throughout Sin City casinos like a bona fide phenomenon. But this game was no fad, and nearly 25 years after making its debut, Let It Ride remains one of the more prevalent offerings in Las Vegas.
Speaking of the fabulous Las Vegas Strip, table game players who specialize in the standards like blackjack, roulette, and craps have long known to steer clear of this potential tourist trap. Whereas the independent casino operators who made Sin City famous used to treat regular players right – with single-zero roulette wheels and 3 to 2 payouts on blackjack the norm – the tables have turned for table game enthusiasts.
Nowadays, you’ll largely find inferior versions of your favorite table games. Picture double- and even triple-zero roulette that double and triple the house edge, or 6 to 5 payouts on blackjack along with harsh rules that benefit the house.
That’s a shame, of course, but Let It Ride fans are in luck. The game’s house edge rate of 3.50 percent is already right in the casino’s preferred “sweet spot,” so they never bothered tinkering with Let It Ride to further their inherent advantage.
Sure, you’ll find a few optional side wagers that are true sucker bets, but those are always optional in Let It Ride. By sticking to the base game, even visitors to the Las Vegas Strip can enjoy Let It Ride as Breeding intended.
On that note, settle in for a full tour of the world’s gambling capital with the five best places to play Let It Ride on the Las Vegas Strip.
1 – Harrah’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino
The Strip is all about excess, and in Las Vegas, more is definitely more.
That’s why Harrah’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino takes top billing on this list, what with twice as many Let It Ride tables on the floor as any other casino in town.
You’ll find four Let It Ride games running around the clock at Harrah’s, while no other gambling hall in the city has more than two.
And on all four games, players enjoy a comfortable $10 minimum bet, which will actually come to $30 given the three mandatory Ante bets. But don’t worry about that, as you’ll be pulling two of the three bets back from the brink right around 75 percent of the time when using basic strategy guidelines.
Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack Slot Machine
As for the high rollers out there, Harrah’s maximum wager limit on Let It Ride stands at $300, which means your $900 three-way bet plus a Royal Flush deal would be good for $900,000 at 1,000 to 1 payout odds.
Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack Coin
That’s not the only way to win a life-changing jackpot sum though, thanks to the “Millionaire Maker” progressive jackpot program organized by Harrah’s parent company Caesars Entertainment.
Jay Bean – who serves as Vice President of Table Games for Caesars Entertainment – ushered in the new era of million-dollar progressive jackpots at properties like Harrah’s in December of 2018.
In a post published to the Caesars Blog, Bean explained why he adapted the wide area progressive jackpots famously paid by slot machines for table games like Let It Ride:
“By linking them citywide it only increases all our jackpots faster, resulting in millions of additional prize money awarded in Las Vegas.”
For an additional bet of only $5 on the Progressive side bet, landing any Royal Flush on the five-card deal is worth at least $1 million for the lucky winner.
Of course, a Royal Flush will only be dealt on 1 in 649,740 deals according to statistical probability, but like lightning, longshots have to strike somewhere right?
2 – The Venetian and Palazzo
Lightning struck recently at the Venetian, a golden palace devoted to the canals of Venice which shares a sister casino in the Palazzo right next door.
While playing Three Card Poker, a lucky visitor to the Venetian spiked a perfect Royal Flush to trigger a progressive jackpot of just over $1 million. And while Sean Barry of Ohio wasn’t playing Let It Ride, he very well could’ve won the same jackpot on the Venetian’s lone $5 minimum / $500 maximum table. The odds remain the same at 1 in 649,740 for a Royal Flush on all poker-based table games in which five-card Royal Flushes are required to trigger the reward.
Lance Gautreaux – who serves as Senior Vice President for Venetian parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp. – told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the Venetian and Palazzo have minted five new millionaires thanks to their progressive jackpot promotion on table games like Let It Ride:
“The Millionaire Progressive has paid out more than $5 million this year. That’s five millionaires, made each from a $5 side bet. A huge congratulations goes out to all of our winners so far.”
Canadian tourist Kevin Ripski was another beneficiary of the Venetian/Palazzo progressive jackpot back in February of 2019. He was playing Caribbean Stud Poker, but as he told KTNV-13 News while celebrating his $1,114,079 jackpot for a Royal Flush, folks who enjoy Let It Ride would be well-served to put that extra $5 chip on the side bet before every hand they play:
Mgm Grand 5 Dollar Blackjack Slots
“I always play the bonus bet for the very reason if you hit it and are not playing the bonus, you will regret it for the rest of your life. I let the dealer flip over my cards, so it’s a surprise at the end of the hand.”
3 – Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
Circling back to the Caesars property family, Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino has two Let It Ride tables connected to the company’s Millionaire Maker progressive jackpot.
This pair of games also uses the lowest minimum bet around of just $5, so recreational players can enjoy the action without worrying about exhausting their bankroll in a hurry. High rollers are in luck too, as the $500 maximum bet is second only to the $2,000 big bet table found at the Palazzo.
4 – Paris Las Vegas
One more extravagant Caesars property where progressive jackpot hunters can grind Let It Ride in style, Paris has a pair of tables using the $5 / $500 limits – plus the Millionaire Maker opportunity.
5 – MGM Grand
The MGM Resorts family of casinos along The Strip might not have a progressive jackpot attached to their table games, but at MGM Grand, the minimum bet on Let It Ride is $25.
The maximum limit tops out at $500, so this game definitely isn’t for everybody, but if you want to press your luck and go for major base game scores for non-Royal Flush hands, the Let It Ride table at MGM Grand is for you.
Conclusion
Let It Ride is beloved by both casinos and players for one simple reason – it straddles the middle ground perfectly. The house edge of 3.50 percent is high enough to warrant prominent placement on the gaming floor, while players have the option to reduce their risk (twice no less) whenever the cards fail to cooperate.
And with massive progressive jackpots now tied to the game at many of the major casino resorts, playing Let It Ride on the Las Vegas Strip is always a winning proposition.