Casino floors are changing around the country. While some are making subtle changes by adding new games, others are replacing large segments of casino floors. Both types of redesigns will eventually impact blackjack players and those who like other types of traditional table games.
Blackjack for low rollers
Blackjack for low rollers continues to migrate to machines. Caesars is removing large swaths of table games at all of its Las Vegas casinos. Caesars is replacing traditional table games with slots and electronic table games (ETGs). The company is also renovating its flagship property Caesars Palace. The new layout will include multiple areas with machine games.
The shift towards ETG’s isn’t new. We’ve been reporting about stadium games and various versions of ETGs for years. When The Venetian introduced its stadium game installation, Blackjack live dealer table limits all moved to $25. The new installation was and is the only game under $25.
The change for Caesars isn’t much of a surprise to those following its merger with Eldorado Resorts. The new leadership at Caesars is known for reducing expenses to increase profits.
New machine games spice up the gaming floor
The vast majority of these machine games being installed at Caesars properties don’t require a live dealer. Only Roll To Win Craps (below) has a single dealer. That’s one stick person for the game that typically has three dealers and a box person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h6mOZfEFzs
Some of the games being installed are also new to casino floors. MGM Grand and The D are offering a crane game for gambling. The Go Go Claw game from Aruze (same manufacturer as Roll To Win Craps) is similar to a traditional crane game for prizes. The prize in the casino version of this game is money.
New slot machines aren’t what many will expect. Skill-based slot games were introduced as the future. These haven’t taken off due to the slot games still having a hold percentage. Any skill used can’t help too much when a game is set to return less than 100%.
The new games in traditional slot machine cabinets offer different takes on these types of games. There are some games where the “pull of the lever” or spin is replaced by picking an object or something similar like just pushing a button on these Zap games.
These machines still have a house edge but they offer a different experience than just hitting the spin button on a slot.
New ETGs
There are new ETG installations as well. Stadium gaming and large profile ETGs have been infiltrating casinos for a few years now. While there are new versions of these ETGs there are some that should appeal more to machine players.
Interblock has a series of ETGs for individual players. The one-person bubble craps games have been in casinos for a couple of years now. While craps games are appearing in more casinos there’s another one popping up more often.
There are now individual blackjack games hitting casino floors. The gameplay is similar to the large profile ETGs but there’s only one person playing a machine. The experience is a step up from playing video blackjack games found in traditional video poker machines.
Casinos can now offer ETG configurations for anywhere from one player to more than 100 players.
Many long-time blackjack players still shun the machine games in order to play traditional live-dealer games. However, these electronic and video blackjack games are continuing to grow in popularity among casino operators and guests.
Some players enjoy the machine games because these are the only blackjack games they can afford in some casinos. A subsection of these players enjoys the option of playing games where other players can’t influence their gameplay.
Of course, casino operators love reducing employee expenses with unsalaried machines. As long as casino visitors play the machines, there’s no reason for them to offer fewer options.
