Question of the Day - 11 May 2018

Yes, triple-zero roulette is most certainly real and has been for a year and a half. And it's already begun replacing traditional double-zero roulette wheels on the Strip.

The Venetian introduced it in a “new game” called Sands Roulette in October 2016. The only difference from traditional roulette was the third green zero, which raises the casino advantage from 5.26% to 7.69%.

The Venetian in essence snuck in the third zero by adding the green square on the layout with an “S” for Sands. They introduced one table, giving it a $10 minimum, compared to the $15 minimum for double-zero. A lot like 6-5 blackjack on lower-limit or single- and double-deck games, it seemed to be the cost of the lower table minimum — bets for $5 less, though a 2.43% worse house advantage.

It was still the only triple-zero roulette game in Vegas, and perhaps the world, six months later. At that time, roughly a year ago, the minimum bet had gone up to $15 and there was a double-zero game with the same $15 minimum right next to it. When we were there, the Sands (triple-zero) game had three players and the standard game had two.

Making single $15 bets at a pace of 30 rounds per hour, a player is up against an hourly expected loss of $34.62, almost $11 more than playing a standard wheel. 

In the April 2018 LVA, we reported that two new triple-zero wheels had been spotted on the Strip, one at Planet Hollywood, the other at New York-New York. This means, as we wrote, “... that both Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts have joined in the roulette gouge that previously had been the sole province of the Venetian.”

As for the Venetian, the last time we checked, two triple-zeroes were in action and no double zeroes — the first time we’d been there without both being offered. Why should they offer double-zero? Both triple-zero tables were busy.

Our comment in the Advisor, “When players are that oblivious, you can’t fault the casino for offering the ripoff variation.”

Our friends at VitalVegas.com, however, had the last word on the subject. “The Venetian seems to be saying, let’s continue to do this until we see what the pain point is.”