Last week, staying downtown, I walked through the Golden Nugget and noticed that the low mimimum blackjack tables each had a "wheel bonus." I understand you are required to put down a $2 bet on this "wheel bonus." If you don't get a blackjack you lose the $2. If you are dealt a blackjack you get to spin the wheel for an additional payout. Doesn't sound right. Any comments? % for the House?
stick to the craps table
i was just out there and really enjoyed my stay at the Gate!!
When I visited the Golden Nugget last week while staying downtown, I saw that each of the low minimum blackjack tables had a "wheel bonus." I believe that in order to participate in this "wheel bonus," you must wager $2. You forfeit the $2 if you don't get a blackjack. You are entitled to spin the wheel for an additional payment if you are dealt a blackjack. Sounding incorrect. Any feedback? % for the House
The bet is mandatory, and while it's impossible to calculate the house %, a casual observation will reveal that the jackpot amount on the wheel NEVER hits. So it's a biased, fictional wheel.
My guess would be about a 30% house edge. What's unforgivable is that unlike other high-vig side bets on table games, they FORCE you to make this bet, or not play.
Assholes!
I believe that the game you are questioning is explained @ Las Vegas Advantage.com --Bonus Spin Blackjack – Golden Nugget and Fremont Two downtown Las Vegas casinos share the honor of winning our worst Las Vegas blackjack award. This is Golden Nugget’s fourth year in the top spot with its Bonus Spin Blackjack. Fremont joined it by adding the game in 2020. Bonus Spin Blackjack looks like a normal blackjack game. In many casinos, it is an optional side bet. At Golden Nugget and Fremont, players are required to bet $1 on the Bonus Spin side bet in addition to the base bet. Blackjack pays 6:5. The minimum bet is $10 before the side bet at both casinos. When I first saw this game, I attempted to determine the house edge on the side bet. I was never able to find the exact amount. My research determined 23% to be the best estimate, which was in the range I predicted. With that information, I estimate that a player theoretically loses $0.23 every hand on the side bet plus the house edge on the main wager. A $10 blackjack bet would have a $0.20 house edge at these 6:5 tables. The minimum bet of $11 holds $0.43 with this calculation. This gives the game a house edge of 3.91%.
With this forced sidebet requirement, from a house edge perspective, players would be better off playing the Big Wheel game or a NGCB minimum 75% hold slot machine. Terrible BJ option, at least for my bankroll. In a BJ game with truly random card distribution in existing / remaining decks / cards, a natural only occurs once every 20/21 hands ( roughly 5% of the time). This is just a bad game all around..but I guess some folks enjoy it for the 'fun' they perceive to get out of it. Their business, their money.
I loathe it for the visual lie that the so-called "wheel" represents.The suckers won't understand that the chances of hitting the top amounts are next to nil.
