Plaza Las Vegas is located on Main Street at the intersection of the Fremont Street Experience. It is owned by Tamares Group and operated by PlayLV. The company once owned three other casinos in downtown Las Vegas. Those properties were Gold Strike, The Western and Las Vegas Club. Gold Strike and Western were sold to the Downtown Project. Las Vegas Club was sold to Derek and Greg Stevens, owners of Golden Gate and The D. Plaza is the lone property left under the Tamares Group and PlayLV umbrella.
Plaza was remodeled in 2011. It was a $35 million renovation that used furnishings from the Fontainebleu remodel. These were acquired during the recession when Fontainebleu’s construction was halted.
Plaza Tables and Games
Plaza offers four different blackjack games. All blackjack games at Plaza hit soft 17.
The best game is a $25 to $1,000 double deck game. It is possible to find the minimum bet at $10 during the slowest hours of the day. Double down before and after splitting is permitted. The house edge is 0.4%.
There is one table of Free Bet Blackjack. Players receive a free double down on 9, 10, and 11, even after splitting. Free splits are allowed on any pair that does not contain a 10-value card. The dealer pushes all players on 22 in this game.
There are five six-deck shoe games at Plaza. These start at $5 but typically have a $10 minimum bet most hours of the day. Players may double down before and after splitting. The max bet at these tables is $1,000. The house edge is 0.65% for this game.
Plaza installed three party pit blackjack tables inside the old gift shop by the front entrance. It employs girls that once dealt at Las Vegas Club, a shuttered casino once owned by Plaza’s parent company. These tables have a view of the Fremont Street Experience, but are somewhat obstructed. That is due to the zip line platform. These three party pit tables offer the same rules as the ones on the main casino floor. The limits are $10 to $1,000.
There are two Most Liberal 21 tables at Plaza. This game is owned by the casino. Plaza is the only place to play Most Liberal 21. The rules are not as friendly as they once were. The dealer now hits soft 17. Players can double down on any two cards and after splitting. Surrender and re-split aces are also permitted. Double down on any number of cards is allowed. A six-card Charlie automatically wins. Blackjack pays even money, unless it is suited. That pays 2-1.
Royal Rewards for Frequent Blackjack Players
Plaza Las Vegas uses Royal Rewards for its players club. Blackjack players will find it nearly impossible to move up the ranks of Royal Rewards. That is because Royal Rewards is geared towards slot and video poker players. Nonetheless, there is a reason to pull out a players card at Plaza. Green chip action will attract a host almost immediately when buying in with $200 or more. This will create personal offers from hosts at Plaza. Green chip play should receive a comp to Oscar’s after about four hours of play. Don’t be shy about asking for it.
What’s Different?
There aren’t any 6-5 blackjack games at Plaza. The poorly named Most Liberal 21 is not liberal at all. Its house edge is triple the normal blackjack games available at Plaza. The $5 blackjack minimum bets are worth a visit, especially because the traditional games pay 3-2 on a natural.
The Inside View
Plaza is a great casino for low limit action. There is 3-2 blackjack available during off peak hours at $5. It goes up to $10 during peak hours. Plaza also spreads 100% payback video poker. Combining this action will generate great mailers that include free hotel nights in the third-nicest hotel in downtown Las Vegas. Avoid the “Most Liberal 21” because its name does not match the rules and you will get dealt a decent game.