“You’re bringing in higher-value customers, and we’re already full. So, you’re kicking out the lowest end. I see no reason that that needs to stop or would stop.” – Tom Reeg, CEO, Caesars Entertainment
It’s no secret that the odds favor the house, but shifts in spending habits and gambling philosophies have given casinos an unprecedented edge—and they’re using it to push out some players while squeezing more from those who remain.
For better or worse, Las Vegas is a city built on gambling. While high-rollers get special treatment, there was always a place at the table, so to speak, for the casual gambler on a budget. Over the past decade, however, there were significant table game changes in casinos, including hikes in minimum bet requirements and alterations to long-standing rules and payouts. This can be traced to factors like shifting revenue priorities and fundamental changes in casino economics.
Ultimately, though, it reflects the players’ habits and priorities, many of whom are more interested in the experience than the odds.
The Market Speaks. The Casino Listens
The profile of the average visitor to Las Vegas changes as frequently as the famed Vegas skyline. After gambling was legalized in 1931, casinos set rules and bet limits to appeal to patrons of the time. This included construction workers building the Hoover Dam and tourists seeking respite from life during the Great Depression.
As the economy improved and consumer sensibilities evolved, the city reinvented itself and adjusted operations to accommodate a new class of patron. In the 1990s, for example, vibrant family-friendly resorts like Luxor and Excalibur introduced an era of safe, affordable entertainment. Casinos at the time recognized the value of casual visitors and maintained a majority of low-limit tables alongside a handful of high-limit ones.
The current Vegas era is defined by ambition, opulence, and exclusivity. In the early 21st century, developers aimed to legitimize the city as a destination for world-class dining, entertainment, and luxury accommodations. This resulted in the emergence of a younger, livelier generation of visitors with disposable income and a fear of missing out.
These are experience-seekers who prefer to pay for bottle service at a club rather than wait 30 minutes to get a free drink at a pai-gow table. Still, gambling remained a major part of the experience, so casinos worked on giving it an air of exclusivity. The solutions could not have been better…for them.
Casinos increased table minimums, resulting in more money wagered and a decrease in “undesirable” patrons. This included tourists looking for inexpensive fun, seniors on a fixed income, and serious players employing regulated, sensible strategies.
Are Minimum Bets the Price of Admission?
This is Las Vegas. If you intend to immerse yourself in the experience, casinos expect you to sit and play. 10 years ago, nearly all Vegas casinos offered bets as low as $5, but those same establishments now require $10 or $15, with weekend minimums often shifting to $25 or more.
Properties could be reinvesting and earning the right to be seen as premium locations with premium pricing. Unfortunately, that doesn’t explain why many off-Strip casinos also eliminated $5 tables or offer them only during off-peak hours. If these locations do not provide a premium experience, why have they increased their minimum bets? Sadly, it’s because we let them.
Recent industry studies show that the house’s strategy is paying off. In August of 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that, despite a steady decline in the number of blackjack tables and total players in Las Vegas over the past 15 years (including pre-COVID), gambling revenues have reached all-time highs. Lower-level players are indeed playing less, but increased average bets from other players have more than compensated for it.
Rewriting the Rule Book
As table minimums climbed last decade, it became clear that players weren’t deterred by the rising cost of entry. Seeing this, casinos seized the opportunity to increase the price of playing and subtly rewrite the rules, tilting the odds and payouts even further in their favor.
In 2010, 720 blackjack tables on the Strip offered a 3:2 payout for players dealt a natural blackjack. By 2022, that number stood at just 275, with most tables having switched to paying just 6:5. Additional house-friendly table game changes in casinos, like allowing the dealer to hit on a soft 17, have also eaten into the player odds.
Over a decade or more, casinos gradually and inconspicuously introduced changes like a comic book villain slowly poisoning the water supply.
Blackjack stands out as the most prominent game on the casino floor, but it is not the only one subject to bet increases and rule changes. Traditionally, roulette wheels featured a single green zero, which offered a modest edge to the house.
Casinos added another zero to decrease the odds, and recently, many have introduced triple-zero wheels. Additionally, newer “Crapless” Craps games feature several changes to the game’s rules, very few of which favor the player.
Case Study: How Table Changes Drove Me Out of Craps
Every gambler approaches their favorite games differently, and in craps, strategies can vary wildly. With about 95 bets available and the option to lay multiple bets concurrently, the possibilities are nearly limitless.
The most basic strategy involves placing a single bet, typically on the Pass Line, and then waiting for an outcome. Players can increase their odds and enjoyment by placing combinations with additional bets on other outcomes. With multiple bets placed simultaneously, a “minimum bet” for many players is not a minimum at all.
For example, my primary betting strategy in craps requires me to lay money first on the Pass Line, then place more money behind it as an Odds bet, before repeating these bets two or three more times using the Come Line.
On a $5 minimum table, this approach requires:
- 1 Pass Line bet ($5)
- 3 Come Line bets ($5 x 3 bets = $15)
- 4 Odds bets that are twice the original bet ($10 x 4 bets = $40)
Once I’m fully set, I have $60 on the table. One bad roll could wipe all of that out in an instant. I’m willing to take that risk because I believe my approach increases my odds of winning and my return on investment.
Unfortunately, when the minimum jumps to $10, my strategy now requires $120 per play, which is no longer sustainable.
Some might argue that I could adjust my strategy—place fewer bets to lower my risk, but any compromise in my approach also reduces my expected returns. If I can’t play optimally, I’d rather not play at all.
For a long time, I refused to accept this reality. I love the thrill of rolling the dice at a live table. But recently, I faced a sad truth: my days of playing live craps were over. Thankfully, I stumbled into Circus Circus on a recent trip and found a single $5 table still running. I played for as long as I could, savoring the experience, but I know those days are numbered.
Automation Everywhere: Are the Machines Taking Over?
As the traditional table gaming experience becomes less accessible to many players, an affordable digital alternative has emerged to take its place. Modern electronic table games, more sophisticated than previous eras, occupy increasing floor space in casinos throughout the city and beyond.
Craps machines, for example, offer significantly lower minimums than live games, with $3 and $5 options available even in exclusive casinos. Players also commonly find electronic versions of blackjack and roulette, which use realistic dealer animations and immersive graphics to simulate the live experience.
Lower minimums and prominent floor positioning are increasing the adoption of gaming machines while the number of live tables falls. This suggests that the shift may be happening by design, with additional intentions behind the strategy of pricing players out of live games.
Automation impacts nearly every industry. In Las Vegas, there is even more incentive to move away from human labor due to the strength of the unions in the city. Machines take up less space than tables and require less maintenance and operational costs.
Consequently, this shift not only prices players out of live games but also threatens the livelihoods of local workers who rely on these jobs.
A Player without a Game
As modern casinos continue to evolve, some players will be left behind. Reflecting on years of playing, studying, and developing skills, they will wonder what happened to the games they used to love and, in many cases, where they went.
This mirrors the changes in poker rooms at the beginning of this century. During the fabled “poker boom,” card rooms systematically eliminated seven-card stud tables in favor of Texas hold’em. Now, stud games are practically extinct due to the same market forces reshaping table gaming. So, what happened to the stud players?
For players who built their gambling habits around games that no longer exist or are simply not accessible, the shift feels like a profound loss. These games offered them a space where skill, strategy, and experience mattered, and therefore they themselves mattered. In their absence, players suddenly find themselves in a casino ecosystem prioritizing speed, volume, and higher-stakes action.
Some transition to other games or embrace digital or stadium gaming, but many simply walk away. Nothing lasts forever, you see. Maybe games really are just for children.
