The Palazzo is the sister casino of Venetian. Both are owned by Las Vegas Sands. The two resorts combine to be the largest in the U.S. and second in the world only to First World Hotel in Malaysia. There are 7,177 hotel rooms between Venetian and Palazzo. There are 3,068 at Palazzo.
The Palazzo opened on December 30, 2007. It is one of just two Las Vegas casinos with underground parking. Guests enter from Sands Avenue and must go through a guard station to get to the lower levels. This makes entry to Palazzo very convenient as guests can enter directly onto the casino floor from the parking deck. Cosmopolitan is the only other Las Vegas casino with that design. Riviera offered this same convenience before it closed in May 2015.
The Palazzo Tables and Games
The blackjack at Palazzo has seen better days. Venetian and Palazzo destroyed returns on its blackjack games in 2014. Every table with a limit under $50 dropped to a 6-5 payout.
There are 22 6-5 blackjack tables that use eight decks and allow double down before and after splitting. The dealer hits soft 17. The bet range is $10 to $5,000 at these tables. Many have a $25 minimum bet. The house edge is 2.01% at these tables.
Players willing to bet $50 a hand will find two 3-2 games available. One is a six-deck shoe with double down before and after splitting, surrender and re-split aces. The dealer hits soft 17. This game has a 0.47% house edge. There are four of these tables.
There are four double deck games that allow double down before and after splitting. The dealer hits soft 17. The house edge for this game is 0.4%.
The $50 blackjack games at Palazzo have a max bet of $5,000.
The Palazzo and its sister casino Venetian are the only places in Las Vegas that spread Spanish 21. The bet limits are $15 to $2,500 for the game. There are three Spanish 21 tables at Palazzo. The dealer hits soft 17. Three tables of Blackjack Switch and three tables of Free Bet Blackjack are also found at Palazzo with $15 to $2,500 bet limits.
Like most casinos, the great games are in the high limit salon. Unlike most places, it takes $200 minimum bets to get into those games. The max bet is $10,000 but Las Vegas Sands is happy to raise the limits for established players. All high limit salon blackjack games stand on all 17’s.
The six-deck shoe permits double down before and after splitting, as well as surrender and re-split aces. It has a house edge of 0.27%. The double deck is pitched and allows double down before and after splitting. Its edge is 0.25%.
The low limit tables are terrible. On the other hand, the $5 Dealers Angel machine at Palazzo offers the same rules as the $50 shoe game, minus re-split aces. It takes a players card and gives about 0.08% comps to offset the inability to re-split aces. Low limit players should choose this game. There are four at Venetian if the one at Palazzo is full.
Grazie for Frequent Blackjack Players
Venetian and Palazzo are extremely stingy with comps. You will need to play $50 to even get noticed and give high limit action for comps. We highly recommend playing some slots on the Grazie players card on the first trip to see if it triggers a good offer by mail. Some gamblers report receiving great mailers from playing video blackjack and video craps on their first trip. You may want to play some of these low edge games if you hope to receive free rooms on a future trip to Las Vegas.
What’s Different?
The biggest difference between Palazzo and most other casinos is that all of its $25 tables pay 6-5 on blackjack. Only MGM Grand and Cosmopolitan can say the same. Most casinos at least pay 3-2 on all $25 tables. Another oddity is the great video blackjack game among all the terrible live ones. Video blackjack has a $5 minimum bet and players earn Grazie points when using the card in the machine.
The Inside View
Like many other casinos, The Palazzo once spread great blackjack games but does not today. You will need to get to the $50 tables to find anything playable. These are located in the Asian pit by high limit except for a couple of the double deck games in the main pit. Low limit players should either play video blackjack or walk across the street to Treasure Island.
Players willing to go $200 or higher will find great games, including a double deck that stands on all 17’s. This is out of range for most gamblers.