One of the best deals in any casino right now can be found on Thursday nights at Binion’s Gambling Hall on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. Every week Binion’s hosts Throwback Thursday Blackjack featuring $1 hands of blackjack from noon-midnight.
This $1 blackjack game is single deck, hand shuffled and pitched by the dealer. It pays 3:2 on blackjack, which is great, but you can only double on 10 and 11 and there’s no doubling after you split cards. While not perfect rules the game still has a house edge under 1% and is only $1 per hand. You might be surprised to hear that this game offers some of the best odds that you’ll find in Las Vegas for blackjack.
When you enter Binion’s from Fremont Street you’ll have to make your way past the wave of gaming tables in the entrance and beyond the main center bar and towards the back end of the casino before you see the pit featuring four tables of $1 blackjack. The games will be easy to find once you reach the area since they will likely be the only table games open in this pit. The games are in such high demand that you will probably have to wait for a seat to play, especially if you show up later in the evening.
The $1 Binion’s Throwback Blackjack game is gambling entertainment at its finest. While you can wager more than the $1 minimum, this isn’t a game played to make serious money. You might find one person at each table playing above the minimum wager and rarely anybody playing with a green ($25) chip. About half the people playing this game aren’t familiar with basic strategy. If you’re the kind of person that gets upset when someone hits a 5 when the dealer has a bust card showing you should go elsewhere. Even more annoying will probably be the people splitting 10’s because “it’s only $1, bruh.”
Having said all of this the $1 Binion’s Throwback Blackjack game might be the most fun you’ll have playing blackjack in Las Vegas. If you enjoy a little gambling action when going out for a few drinks this is the game for you. The $1 minimum makes this a low pressure game. The low risk of $1 games along with the low house edge (about 0.58%) allow you to extend a small bankroll long enough to have just enough drinks to make this one of the most fun blackjack sessions you’ll have.
I went to Binion’s with a $20 bankroll for the night recently. I quit after a few hours and four Johnnie Walker on the rocks and 3 bottles of water. I was down $15 which included $7 in tips for the cocktail waitresses. On the flip side, a friend had almost the exact opposite financial results after playing a bit longer.
The most surprising thing about the night was that the dealers were as entertaining as the players. Many times when you play at a low limits tables you’re playing with inexperienced dealers who are more concerned with dealing the cards right than having fun. That wasn’t the case the night that I played and many laughs were shared. Dealers were jovial and dealt the game accurately at a pace that wasn’t too slow or too fast.
Binion’s $1 Throwback Blackjack is a great excuse to head to downtown Las Vegas and checkout one of the most historic casinos in town. There’s no end date set for this promotion but as long as it’s popular it should stay around. Give them a call if you want to double check that the offer is still running.
Binion’s Gambling Hall: 128 Fremont St, Las Vegas, NV 89101. (702) 382-1600 binions.com
