For many decades, Las Vegas was known not only for exciting gambling, but also for having the cheapest blackjack tables available. But like everything in Las Vegas, the ability to find cheap blackjack has changed a lot in recent years.
Cheapest Blackjack in Vegas: What You Need to Know
- Although they are not as easy to find as they once were, there are still $10 blackjack tables in Vegas and even $1 blackjack tables in Las Vegas if you know which casino to look at.
- However, the cheapest blackjack in Vegas is not always the best. You must consider the house edge in blackjack to understand the exact value of each hand you play.
- The best value blackjack can currently be found at casinos that offer online blackjack, and you can use our casino reviews to find the best value casino games online.
- Take advantage of this guide’s local information to find the best and cheapest blackjack tables in Las Vegas.
The days of cheap blackjack even in downtown or local casinos are quickly coming to an end, unless you want to play an electronic version of the table games or perhaps a stadium game in Las Vegas casinos.
The cheapest blackjack tables in Vegas
That’s not to say you can’t still find $5 or even $1 blackjack in Vegas, whether downtown, up north or just off the Strip. But cheap doesn’t always mean you get value for your money.
A $1 blackjack game in Vegas where you have to pay 25 cents blinds for each hand is not worth playing. A $1 game where you get even on blackjacks and can’t double down after splits is not worth playing.
Even a $5 game that pays 6/5 blackjack in Vegas is going to cost your bankroll a lot more than a $10 table that pays 3 to 2 blackjack in Vegas, even in the very short term. So, not only are we going to tell you where to find the cheapest blackjack tables in Las Vegas, but we’re also going to cover whether these tables are really worth anything.
Cheapest Blackjack in Las Vegas: How to Find the Best Tables
Let’s talk a little bit about how a shift manager at a casino decides what blackjack limits to offer. It really comes down to supply and demand. If it’s 4:00 a.m. on a Tuesday, I need a lower limit than if it’s Saturday night and there’s a price war going on in town.
If my casino doesn’t have a hotel, is a little run down, or is farther away from the action, all of that will also affect how far I can set my blackjack limits and still hope to play.
Seasonality plays a role when it comes to the cheapest blackjack in Vegas
Just like the time of year. Even if it makes your hair burn, Las Vegas is still busier in the summer than in the winter. We just had seven days in July with temperatures over 46 degrees Celsius, but hey, you can come whenever you want.
However, there are also casinos that would rather temporarily not allow any gaming at all than set the wrong precedent and attract the wrong kind of customer. While this is unfortunate, it is the reason why you might see a $5 game early in the morning during the off-season at places like the MGM Excalibur or Circus Circus on Las Vegas Boulevard, but never at the Wynn, Caesars Palace or Bellagio.
People’s perception is important. Chanel would never sell a handbag for $50 and many Strip owners would rather be caught dead than offer a “cheap” table limit.
Cheap Blackjack Tables on the Strip
We can narrow down the search for $5 and $10 games on the Strip by looking at where they have been offered in the past and then paying attention to times when there is likely to be little play, which are weekdays and early mornings.
Some likely locations include Excalibur, Luxor, Circus Circus, and Slots of Fun. By looking at Trip Advisor, other travel forums, and even Reddit, we know that $5 real money blackjack games have been spotted at these locations over the past six months or so.
We try to avoid sites that offer surveys or reviews when looking for cheap blackjack tables in Las Vegas. We don’t know if they visit these casinos more than once a year, if they go on Wednesdays at 4am or Fridays at 7pm, and we therefore don’t know if they look at the lowest minimum bets the casino offers or just what’s on offer while they’re on the premises and writing up their scores.
Just call and ask
If you don’t feel like driving to the end of the strip, you can call these casinos and ask what their current minimum bets are. I actually get calls all the time asking about table limits, but be aware that it wouldn’t be unusual if you call early in the evening and they don’t know what the table minimums will be the next morning.
We suspect you may find these $5 blackjack games at some of these Vegas hotels in the early winter when hotel rates drop significantly and there are no conventions in town. Still, you’ll likely find at least $10 games in the morning and afternoon, rising to $15 by early evening during the rest of the year. At least, that’s our experience.
Consider the house edge and the odds of winning
To get the best value for your bet, it’s important to know the house edge and blackjack odds of each game. At these levels, there are some 6/5 games mixed with 3/2 blackjack, so beware. Games that only pay 6/5 on blackjack are several orders of magnitude worse due to the house edge.
A good double deck with stand-on soft seventeen and double after splits might be as low as 0.22%, while the same version of the 6/5 game might be 1.5% or 500% worse.
Most games at reputable mid-Strip casinos have $15 blackjack on the ground floor, and in the evenings you can play $25 or more blackjack when demand is high. So if you really want to play $5 blackjack in Las Vegas, you’ll either have to use the casinos on the edge of the Strip or venture downtown or off the Strip.
Photo credit: lucky-photographer/Shutterstock
Cheap Blackjack Tables in Downtown Las Vegas
We have personally seen $5 games downtown as well, but even here they can be hard to find and fickle. The Golden Nugget Casino generally has a $5 game, but they charge a $2 side bet, or they offer it in games that have “blackjack” in the name but are not actual blackjack.
There have also been sightings of 6/5 $5 blackjack early in the morning at the Plaza. But probably the most reliable place to look for $5 blackjack is the Downtown Grand Casino, and yes, they still have the $1 blackjack game as well.
$10 Blackjack in Las Vegas: Fremont Street
If you’re looking for a $10 blackjack in Las Vegas, Fremont Street is a goldmine, although again, off-peak hours are the best time to pan for gold. We’ve seen 3/2 blackjack games with a ten-minimum bet at the El Cortez, which recently underwent a $20 million remodel and is probably still our favorite downtown casino, even on a weekend.
You can also try the California Casino, Main Street Station, the Plaza and Fremont.
You may notice that many two-deck games do not allow doubling after splitting, which increases the house edge in these games to 0.6%, which is almost exactly the same as the house edge in the six-deck games that allow doubling after splitting.
So you can play both variants. As always, stay away from 6/5 blackjack games and steer clear of any tables that require a side bet.
Cheap Blackjack Tables for Locals in Las Vegas
Away from the bright lights and easily accessible gambling halls along the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street, there are many other casinos. These cater primarily to locals, although they are certainly frequented by a certain type of tourist. You can find not only some of the charm of old Las Vegas here, but also some of the value of old Las Vegas.
The Oyo Casino
Many of these places are not dozens of miles from the tourist centers, but in many cases just a few blocks away. Take Oyo, for example, which also has one of those infamous $1 blackjack tables in Las Vegas that you can tell all your friends back home about, as well as $5 3/2 blackjack. Is it in a seedy area? Yes. Is there what we would euphemistically call seedier? Sure. But did we mention the $3 shots and the $10 beer buckets?
Ellis Island Casino
Another casino that offers good value for money and is located right on the Strip is Ellis Island. Just a few minutes’ walk from the Paris/Horseshoe monorail station, Ellis Island is the epitome of a good local casino. Not only will you find some of the best $5 blackjack in Las Vegas, but you’ll also find fun, friendly dealers and decent free entertainment.
If you stop by to play, we highly recommend either the Prime Rib or the Steak and Eggs for $9.99. We should probably mention that they also offer craps games for $5?
Southpoint Casino
Another great place for gambling is just a few miles south on I-15. Southpoint Casino offers both $5 and $10 double-deck blackjack with standard rules and 3/2 on blackjack; you should be able to find these table limits no matter when you come. Some rooms offer nice views of the Strip properties in all their nighttime glory and there are 64 bowling lanes that are open until 2 a.m.
Other places to play $5 blackjack in Las Vegas off the Strip are the Station Casinos, particularly Palace Station or possibly the Silverton. However, the last time we were there, everything was $10 except for 6/5 games.
Finding the best blackjack tables in Vegas
You can still play cheap blackjack on the Strip and downtown, but the cheapest blackjack tables in Las Vegas are still located in resident-friendly establishments off the Strip, often just a short drive from the tourist attractions.
Next time you’re in Las Vegas, just ask the cab drivers, dealers, or cocktail waitresses where they like to gamble and you might be rewarded with a little gem that even we don’t know about.
Photo credit: Andrew Angelov/Shutterstock
