The days of live $1 blackjack tables on the Las Vegas Strip are over. The last casino on the Strip to offer it was Riviera. It closed on May 4, 2015. Sahara offered it up until its last day open in 2011. Lucky Club still offers $1 blackjack. That requires a drive to North Las Vegas.
The last few $1 blackjack games on the Las Vegas Strip offered terrible rules that included a natural 21 paying even money. The same can be said for some of the $3 live blackjack games still available in Las Vegas. There are still a few locals’ casinos that offer $3 blackjack where a dealt blackjack pays 3-2.
Most of the good $3 blackjack tables are in the Henderson area. Some are in North Las Vegas. One is just west of the Las Vegas Strip. All of these casinos pay 3-2 on a dealt blackjack and most offer double down before and after splitting. The dealer hits soft 17 at all of these tables. Six or eight decks are used. Some are dealt out of continuous shuffle machines. Surrender is never available.
Henderson $3 Blackjack Games
Players will find good 3-2 real money blackjack games around Henderson. Club Fortune, Railroad Pass and Joker’s Wild spread this game. Arizona Charlie’s on Boulder Highway also has $3 tables. The Joker’s Wild game does not permit double down after splitting. The others allow it.
The Arizona Charlie’s game is the best of the group. It permits aces to be split up to four times. The others do not allow aces to be re-split.
North Las Vegas $3 Blackjack Games
North Las Vegas has several casinos that spread $3 blackjack. Jerry’s Nugget, Poker Palace, and Silver Nugget are among the locals joints that offer the game in a 3-2 format. The Lucky Club has it for $1. Double down before and after splitting is permitted at these games. The tables at Silver Nugget are only open on weekends.
The only casino outside of Henderson, Boulder Highway, and North Las Vegas that spreads 3-2 $3 blackjack is Arizona Charlie’s on Decatur. It is located just north of Charleston Avenue. This is west of downtown Las Vegas.
$3 Las Vegas Blackjack Games to Avoid
There are several casinos in Las Vegas tourist areas that offer $3 blackjack. All of these games offer worse rules than the ones mentioned above.
These casinos only pay even money on $3 and $4 bets when a blackjack is dealt. Most of these casinos offer $5 blackjack games that pay 3-2. The house edge at an even money blackjack table with the same rules is about five times higher than a 3-2 table. You are better off moving up to a $5 minimum bet.
Casinos with these types of $3 blackjack games are OYO, Fremont, California, Fiesta Rancho, and Fiesta Henderson.
$1 Downtown Las Vegas Video Blackjack
There is still one casino that offers a $1 3-2 blackjack game. It is a multi-player video machine that is located at El Cortez. The video blackjack game permits double down before and after splitting. Surrender is also offered. The dealer hits soft 17. The El Cortez video blackjack game accepts the Club Cortez players card but it does not pay full points.
Players will find $1 video blackjack machines on Game Kings throughout Las Vegas. These devices should be avoided. Blackjack only pays even money. Players may often only double down on 10 and 11.
