[Editor's Note: We handed this one off to our favorite casino floor supervisor, Andrew Uyal.]
When it comes to table minimums, the common industry practice is to make 6-5 games a bit more affordable. That means that if you have two tables right next to each other, one paying 6-5 and the other 3-2, it's likely the 3-2 table will have a higher minimum.
I'm speculating that the 6-5 table started lower and when it filled up, the minimum was raised, which is the common practice. When tables fill up, the minimums go up as well. Grandfathering rules vary from casino to casino, but I'd be willing to bet the 6-5 players were grandfathered in at the lower minimum, maybe $10, but probably more like $15, given it was prime time on a Saturday night.
Of course, not everyone who works in a casino understands these operation guidelines and not every gambler cares about the difference between tables like the savvy LVA audience does, so it's entirely possible that the tables opened at the same minimum and players just ended up on 6-5.
To clarify the guidelines on when casinos raise tables, what some might call greed is actually the quest for the ideal occupancy rate. If a casino has an entire floor of $15 tables that are all full, that might sound good, but in fact, it's not. The ideal occupancy rate is around 80%. That means busy, but still room for someone to come sit down and play.
There are a few other guidelines for raising minimums, like the average bet on the table. For instance, if the $15 table is full of people flat betting $15, it may not make sense to raise it. That's not usually the case, though. Often, one or two players are betting more than $15. Then, it does make sense to raise the minimum. Because even if the player or two betting $15 gets up and leaves, the house will be making the same or more money from dealing a faster game to $25 players and now more seats are available for people who also want to play that next denomination.
While game type does influence the initial minimums on the tables, the flow of business will drive the bus for the majority of the time the table is open.
