Question of the Day - 10 February 2023

Should both be burned to the ground and the ashes plowed under with salt, like Carthage. FORCING players to bet is criminal. There's no other word for it. And to make things worse, the bet is a horrible one. It's impossible to tell unless you know the exact programming of the wheel, but people observing it estimate the house edge at 30-35%.

The wheel itself is an obvious lie, as even a few minutes of observation will show that the smaller amounts come up far more frequently, and the top amounts basically never. Many neophytes happily make the "bonus" bet, on the mistaken assumption that each wedge is as likely as all the others, which the physical wheel implies. But it isn't ever actually "spun" at all.

The 4Q, I believe, unlike the GN, offers no alternative to the forced bet game for blackjack players. One mitigating factor is that the games per se aren't as utterly shitty as at the Nugget.

But nonetheless, death to the 4Q and the GN for perpetrating this evil, greedy travesty!

No doubt that 'mandated' wheel spin will often win just enough of a 'bonus' to tempt the gambler to keep playing.  Ugh.

And Strip casinos get all the bad mouthing.

Candy

Candy

...but gamble at the El. Or play the good VP at 4Q, if you want, but nix on the ackblackjay at GN or 4Q. 

So I was there for dinner. We were just  killing time. Another issue is the 6-5 payout. I thought that was just strip payouts. Was at Palace Station and 6-5 there also

While I won't play a 6/5 table, and I avoid almost all side bets you need to look at this not as "forced play" but rather part of the table minimum. Instead of having a $10 min bet - you have a $12 minimum. Using the math presented in the article of a 1.94% house edge on their poor-rule 6/5 blackjack combined with a 35% house edge on the $2 side bet, the house is now making 7.45% - assuming a minimum bet of $12. 

If you were to increase your table bet to $25 + $2 side you minimize the house edge to 4.3% 

The bottom line is that a proper game of BJ should have less than a 1% house edge when you play perfect strategy and you can't get that at a 6/5 table. 

To the point of perfect basic strategy If you read the gaming reports the average house hold on Blackjack over the course of a month is somewhat greater than 20% - This means there are a lot of people who don't play by the book, and are there for the entertainment rather than a serious game. 

If you want to put these crappy black jack odds into perspective. A good payout on a slot machine is 92% (8% house hold) with many having a greater than 15% house hold. This is why slot players get much better comps than table players. 

These described the bonus round as played with special "cat dice," and the Blackjack payout as 3-2. GN must have changed it later.
The 6-5 abomination alone accounts for 1.5% of Mr. Snyder's 1.94% house edge. At 3-2, this would be just another "novelty game"; but of course that would defeat the operators' primary objective.
Most Blackjack side bets are taken or declined at the beginning of the hand. Even after the hand starts, additional bets (insurance, doubling, etc.) are usually optional. This is one of the things that made Blackjack fun to play. A "forced* additional bet not only detracts from the ambiance of the game: it's just plain tacky. Even my cat would be offended.
And it's interesting that this is what alienated the original poster, when a 6-5 six-deck shoe could not. Welcome to the Ticked-Off Blackjack Players' Club.
I probably missed this because I haven't been downtown since the "Binion's Surprise $4.50 Departure Parking Charge" of 2013, reported elsewhere.
Cheers.

 I had to smile as I read- "A good payout on a slot machine is 92% (8% house hold) with many having a greater than 15% house hold. This is why slot players get much better comps than table players." The REAL reason why slot players receive better comps is because the casinos want these type of players to return to their casino because they know that these people lose more than video poker players. The casinos are not "rewarding" these players by "giving" them better comps, they are just inviting them back to be fleeced again and again - and the sheep keep coming back. 

Casinos have to make money, If they had any good Blackjack games  the pros/card counters and Advantage players will all come out of the woodwork and run to the good games  to it take money  until they change the rules or the casino shuts down.  Playing Blackjack now is not much better than  playing a slot machine.  Blame the pros,card counters and AV players for bad Blackjack rules. 

Once you see the 6/5 BJ payout, that alone should make everyone run to another table/game/casino, whichever can get you out of playing that game.