handle than 20 percent of a small amount . “ But not everybody can operate that way . Times are changing . The younger people , they ’ ve grown accustomed to unlimited comps . They don ’ t appreciate the cheap casino discounts and the free or cheap entertainment that we all grew up with .”
John Mehaffey , the founder of Vegas Advantage , a website that surveys all gambling in Vegas , particularly blackjack , says it ’ s almost impossible to find a low-limit 3-2 game anywhere on the Strip . He explains that in the last 20 years , there has been a dramatic reduction of blackjack games in Nevada , going from approximately 3,350 in 2003 to just under 2,000 last year . But the revenue from those games has risen from $ 1.1 billion to $ 1.3 billion during that period .
“ When we first started doing this , there were several $ 5 , 3-2 blackjack games on the Strip ,” he says . “ New York-New York had one — they used to advertise it right outside . Circus Circus had one and Stratosphere had one before Covid . So Covid killed the $ 5 3-2 blackjack . Today , they have $ 15 , 6-5 and now they ’ re winning three times faster .
“ And recently , El Cortez got rid of their single-deck blackjack game that paid 3-2 and was the last one in the market of its kind . But they watched the players at that game like nothing I ’ ve ever seen in my life . There were people out there playing $ 5,000 a hand that didn ’ t get watched as closely as those $ 15 single-deck blackjack players got watched .”
“ There ’ s no way to really stop ( advantage players ), but I do believe that casinos need to be smarter about identifying them and then making sure they ’ re not getting free play and other offers . It ’ s a very ugly thing that ’ s come up due to the internet and making this information so readily available .”
— Jonathan Jossel , CEO , Plaza Las Vegas , explaining why advantage players are the “ scourge ” of the industry today
“ I call it the evolution of casino gaming from a value proposition to a pure retail entertainment option . Las Vegas in particular , but all of the bricks-and-mortar destination gaming locations , are trending away from that value proposition for their patrons .”
— Former casino executive Roger Wagner
RATIONAL REASONS
Jonathan Jossel is the CEO of the Plaza in Downtown Las Vegas . While his casino offers only 3-2 blackjack and no 000 roulette , he understands the current trends in table games and slots .
“ Places are probably needing to tighten up for three reasons ,” he explains . “ One is the cost of product labor , and inflation has definitely driven up the cost of food and labor to the extent where you can no longer offer the same prices that you used to . The other thing is gaming has proliferated all over the country , and people have had to find ways to become more creative here in terms of attracting customers . They ’ re spending way more on these resorts than they used to , and they need a faster return .
“ And the third thing , which I think is maybe the biggest problem with the internet , all this information is so widespread , whether it ’ s card counting or advantage players on slot machines , people are much more savvy than they used to be . They understand best odds on a crap table in terms of how to play it .
“ At the same time , there ’ s the vast majority of players that have no idea about any of this stuff . And then there are the ones that are diligently researching and reading all of this , and they ’ re taking advantage of those better odds and those better opportunities . And so , somewhere in the middle , you have to find the balance of who your customers are and how you cater to them .”
Bill Zender , an innovative table game expert , author of seven books on the subject and a highly respected consultant , believes that rising labor costs play a big role in the decision to change the limits and the rules .
“ After Covid , everybody has had a hard time with labor ,” he says . “ So when they opened everything back up , there were not as many gaming employees as before , and this is nationwide . Everybody that I talked to said they didn ’ t have the labor . So it ’ s supply and demand . If you ’ ve got the demand , you can actually play with the limits .
“ Now , I ’ m a full believer that you need to bring the minimums up . And what that does is bring up your average bet and you should bring it up until a point where you see diminishing returns . And the same thing with the rules . You can raise the house edge on a table game to a point where you have diminishing returns . Players usually don ’ t know the math .”
Mahaffey agrees that the increasing labor costs have forced casinos to get rid of some games altogether .
“ You certainly can ’ t deal a $ 5 , 3-2 blackjack game and make any money off it these days ,” he says . “ Especially on craps or roulette , because you need more than just that one dealer to run it . And the poker rooms too — I think these small poker rooms failed because you couldn ’ t justify
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