MGM National Harbor is one of the many casinos, in Maryland and on the Las Vegas strip, that are paying 6:5 for blackjack as opposed to the traditional 3:2. This accounts for an instant gain of over 1 percentage point in house edge, hurting the advantage and casual player alike.
This past week, however, I noted a different payout structure on a different table game at MGM National Harbor that was outright savage.
The game is craps, and the payout in question is on a side bet licensed by Galaxy Gaming. The bets were introduced around 2012, and induce the player to wager on a shooter’s ability to roll a large number of outcomes before rolling a seven:
- All Small – roll 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 before rolling a 7
- All Tall – roll 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 before rolling a 7
- Make ‘Em All – roll all 10 possible outcomes other than 7 before rolling a seven
This is an intriguing bet because it offers a large payout and the thrill of riding a hot hand.
Back in the day I wrote an article for Marc Meltzer’s EDGe Vegas blog about a simulation I ran to determine the odds and house edge on these bets.
If you want the details, feel free to go take a look. But the upshot is that I calculated a house edge between 7 and 8% for these bets, based on a payout of 34-to-1 for the All Small and All Tall, and 175-to-1 for the Make ‘Em All bet.
The Galaxy Gaming Web site still shows a table layout that lists the bets with those payouts.
But that is not enough of an edge for the bosses at MGM National Harbor. So instead they offer 30-to-1 for the All Small and All Tall bets, and 150-to-1 for the Make’ Em All bet.
What does that do to house edge? By my calculation, it give the All Small and All Tall an 18% house edge, while increasing Make ‘Em All to a house edge just over 20%.
That is approaching lottery territory. MGM National Harbor should be ashamed.
