Bluest said:
KewlJ, do you think with Covid and the world going more virtual in general, there will eventually be online games with comparable EV to live in person casino?
How was this game, in general? Do you feel you could make money at it over time?
I don't play online, so I have no idea about withdrawing your money. I was referring to the multi seat video screen blackjack games inside casinos.
The first generation of these games, Dealer Angel's by Aruze (the computerized dealers with big boobs) were countable, once it became known that the shuffle occurred when they switched dealers. Penetration was lousy though and you had to make sure the game wasn't set to 6:5. There was one at El Cortez that was playable for a small profit for a long time, but was replaced about a year ago. There is still one at SilverSevens, but it is set to 6:5. I mean would you play a regular blackjack game that was 6:5 and very shallow penetration?
So a couple years ago, most dealer Angle games began disappearing and were replaced by a similar 5 seat interblock game. To my knowledge these games are not countable, because the shuffle point is not as obvious.
Anyway, even before Covid appeared, I sort of felt these multi-seat video dealer games along with the stadium style blackjack games that were popping up, which use a live dealer for 20, 30, sometimes as many as 50 terminals, would begin to replace real felt blackjack games over the next few years, especially at lower limits. When Covid hit this year, I felt it would only speed up this transformation. And it has to some extent. Not really the 5 seat video games, but there are many stadium blackjack (and roulette) games that have been installed throughout Las Vegas. All the open Station casinos have a stadium blackjack section. Treasure Island has two stadium blackjack sections. A few other places that aren't coming to mind right now.
So last week, like I said, I ran into a new 5 seat video game that I hadn't seen before. So I checked to be sure it paid 3:2 and played a few hands just to check it out. Didn't take long before I got a blackjack and to my surprise the dealer drew a 4 card 21 and announced that it was a push. That is what you get for not reading the rules.
