Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan

Las Vegas has a new casino, the Cosmopolitan. Rumors about bad blackjack games put a dent in their reputation, but they are quickly bouncing back.

The Cosmopolitan is the first new casino to open on the Las Vegas strip in many years. The Nevada Gaming Commission gave the casino its license just months ago after a long investigation. Construction began on the $3.9 billion casino several years ago, but the recent economic recession slowed progress down so much that it only just opened its doors last week.

For many weeks prior to opening, however, the new casino started receiving bad PR as rumors spread about its blackjack card games. The online blogsphere and gambling forms were buzzing with news that the casino’s blackjack games would offer 6:5 payouts on all natural blackjacks – much less than the Vegas standard of 3:2. The rumors left a lot of blackjack fans feeling shortchanged, and wondering what the casino operators were up to.

As opening night came and went, however, these rumors proved to be untrue. There are 6:5 blackjack payouts at the new Cosmopolitan Casino, but on the single deck games. Standard blackjack rules apply to all multi-deck games, including Blackjack, Blackjack Switch, and Spanish 21. The high limit room also features double-deck blackjack. Table minimums in the main hall hover around $10 to $15, on par with other top casinos on the Strip.

The Cosmopolitan is off to a good start. They took a hit early on with these bad blackjack rumors, but they made up for it by buying out the best dealers from Wynn Las Vegas and other popular casinos to help them start things off on the right foot.

Interestingly, the casino has also put together a comps program, not unlike the point-based loyalty programs found at online blackjack casinos. Players earn comp points not only by placing wagers on casino games, but also by making regular purchases throughout the resort. Points are collected on a card, and can used when checking out for added savings.