$5 3-2 BJ is going extinct

Recently returned from my annual visit to Sin City.  I go to do low stakes gambling on BJ and VPplus some live poker.  Try to play most of the LVA MBR coupons.  I haven't played BJ on the Strip for many years due to 6-5 and high minimums, but locals were always good in the past.  No more.  Common weekday 3-2 minimum was $15.  My bankroll and psyche can't deal with that.  Ellis Island and Cannery (way out north on Craig Rd.) seemed to be the only $5 3-2 left.  With the decline of VP pay tables there's not a whole lot of fun left.

Wow, not even $10 minimums? Those locals' casinos depend on low-rollers. They're going to kill their customer base.

I know what they're thinking--"People will lose X dollars, and if we triple the minimums, that'll take only one-third as long as it used to." Yeah, but is that a good thing? People gamble for entertainment. If playing blackjack for a couple of hours costs you, say, $150 when it used to cost $50, some people will say, "Screw this, I'm going to go to a movie next Friday night instead."

Their strategy is being successful in the short run, though. Like you, I see high table minumums and say, "The hell with that, I'm not playing at all." But we appear to be in the tiny minority. Most tourists, and evidently quite a few locals, are just shrugging and ponying up.