After less than two years of construction, the Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas recently opened. The property is located just off the Vegas Strip where the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino once stood. This new casino resort is a combination of companies coming together to make one property.
The multi-operator concept isn’t new. There are companies that operate casinos for hotel companies in Las Vegas. The difference here is the distinct branding and marketing by the different parts of the property. There’s very little discussion of Paragon Gaming operating the casino at Westgate Las Vegas.
The integration of the casino operator (Paragon) under the property owner (Westgate) is seamless. Guests aren’t very concerned with the technical part of the arrangement. They just want a good time in the casino. Even with the wonky branding structure, blackjack players should enjoy this casino.
All of this preamble is just to give a heads up that Virgin and Mohegan Sun are at the same place in Las Vegas. Whatever you want to call the property, it has great blackjack as we expected last year. That’s really what matters here.
Mohegan Sun Casino
The Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas isn’t huge but it’s not small. The casino has more than 50 table games and 650 video poker and slot machines. The casino floor is similar to the Hard Rock with a few exceptions.
The bulk of blackjack games at Mohegan Sun are located in the main gaming area at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. This space was home to the original casino at the Hard Rock. It looks different now with a new layout.
There’s a lot of space between machines and table games. The space is noticeable as other casinos have tried to open their gaming areas out to meet current coronavirus capacity restrictions. The Mohegan Sun Casino feels very comfortable as it’s set up. The casino could probably squeeze some games together to make space for additional tables and machines.
The high limits blackjack games are located near the Ruby Tower in the section of the property that was built in the early 2010s. The small space only has two blackjack games. The center bar in this area also has a few blackjack tables as well.
Blackjack players who prefer machine games at bars may be disappointed. There are plenty of places to get a drink. Unfortunately, only two small bars have gaming machines. Depending on capacity restrictions there won’t be much space to sit and play here.
Upon opening construction on the Resort Pool at Virgin wasn’t complete. It should be open by May. Prior to opening, the casino operator said they kept the swim-up blackjack tables from the Hard Rock. They weren’t sure if they’d install those games. Keep your eyes peeled if you like to play blackjack outdoors.
Mohegan Sun Blackjack Games
The Mohegan Sun casino could become a must-visit for blackjack players visiting Las Vegas. The Mohegan Sun Casino has only 3:2 blackjack games. This follows Circa Resort in downtown Las Vegas by only offering 3:2 blackjack games inside of the casino. Circa pays 6:5 for blackjack at games by the Stadium Swim pool complex.
According to Vegas Advantage, the games have different rules. There are two types of traditional blackjack games at Mohegan Sun – double deck pitch and six-deck from a shoe. The casino has two blackjack variants. Spanish 21 and Bonus Bet Blackjack are offered for those looking for a different kind of blackjack game.
My first visit was a quick property tour so I didn’t dive into the rules. Thankfully, Vegas Advantage took a look at the rules. Here are the differences they found:
“In the double-deck game, players can double down before and after splitting. The six-deck game adds re-split aces up to four hands.”
The house edge for the double-deck game is around 0.20. The house edge for the shoe game is closer to 0.40. For comparison, both games are comparable to blackjack games at other near-strip casinos like the Gold Coast or Tuscany.
The trend of new casinos in Las Vegas offering 3:2 blackjack is great. Hopefully, that continues when Resorts World Las Vegas opens this summer. Looking back, last year we expected good blackjack games at Circa and Mohegan Sun. Our prognostication for Resorts World wasn’t so positive. It would be nice to be wrong.
