Best of Vegas? (Part I)

Each year the Review-Journal comes out with the in numerous categories as chosen by the newspaper's readers and staff. Many businesses use the "Best of Vegas" seal as a kind of Good Housekeeping seal of approval to gain public confidence. In my opinion these "awards" are just about meaningless, as a close look at some of the gambling winners will show.

Forget (if you can) that the same pool of voters who selected the gambling winners found that in Vegas, which has some of the finest restaurants in the world, the "best" this year included Applebees, the Olive Garden and the Red Lobster. These people don't have any particular expertise in the areas in which they voted, and they are not statistically representative of the R-J's readers. They're just people who decided to vote.

Nonetheless, just as the blind squirrel sometimes finds an acorn, some of their choices aren't bad. In particular, a case can be made for Sunset Station as offering the best blackjack, though not for the reasons stated in the newspaper, which cited "Wicked 21" blackjack offered on Friday and Saturday nights.

So what criteria would I use to choose the "best blackjack" winner, and what casino would that be?

First, we need to address the issue "best for whom" -- the $5 player or the $100 player? The tourist or the card counter? In blackjack and other categories, there is no one "best" for everyone. Here are the criteria I would use in evaluating casinos for the quality of their blackjack, in descending order of importance:

1. Availability. Most players should be able to find a seat most of the time at a game they want to play for a minimum bet amount they're comfortable with.

2. Rules. Doubling on any first two cards and doubling after splitting should be allowed in all games. Resplitting of aces, dealer standing on soft 17, and late surrender earn extra points. If games that pay 6-to-5 for blackjack are offered, they should be in a small minority and clearly labeled.

3. Variety. Double deck should be available. Shoe games should be six decks, not eight. Continuous shuffling machines are OK for lower-limit games as long as players have other choices.

4. Extras. Promotions especially for, or at least that include, table players earn extra credit.

5. Atmosphere, surroundings, decor, including ventilation and availability of non-smoking areas.

6. Friendliness and competence of dealers and pit staff.

7. Good penetration. Dealers don't spend half their time shuffling.

8. Tables without side bets so players have a choice.

By these criteria, I think the choice of Sunset Station is a reasonable one. The casino generally has a reasonable number of tables open, including double deck for as low as $10. The rules are better than average, with resplitting of aces allowed, though surrender is not offered on any games. The table games area has a spectacular ceiling and is well ventilated. Dealers are competent and mostly friendly. As primarly a locals' casino, Sunset attracts mostly reasonably competent players who allow the games to keep moving.

On the negative side, the Stations in general don't do much to promote blackjack (or other table games). Their comp system for table games is opaque and, in my experience, not very generous.

On the whole, though, the Stations are among the best places in Vegas for the low- to mid-level blackjack player. Other places I like to play include the M Resort, Mirage, Aria, Rampart and the Orleans.

In my next post, I'll discuss why I disagree with the Review-Journal readers' choice of South Point as having the best video poker, though I don't think it's a bad place at all for that game.