Sam’s Town is named after Sam Boyd, the founder of Boyd Gaming. The theme of the property is western. It is a low roller local joint. Calling Sam’s Town a grind joint is not a stretch by any means. It is on Boulder Highways between the Eastside Cannery and Arizona Charlie’s.
Sam’s Town opened on April 1, 1979. It offers a large hotel for a locals joint. There are 646 rooms. Sam’s Town draws more tourists than any other Boulder Strip casino. This gives it a nice mixture or Las Vegas visitors looking for low limit gambling and locals from the Las Vegas east side.
The typical entertainment offers are available at Sam’s Town that locals have come to expect. There are a large sports book and poker room. There is also a 56-lane bowling alley that is open 24 hours a day. An 18-screen movie theater is also on the property.
Sam’s Town Tables and Games
There are 23 blackjack tables on the main casino floor at Sam’s Town. All blackjack games hit soft 17. There is no high limit salon at Sam’s Town.
The most popular game is double deck blackjack. There are 16 of these tables. The limits are $10 to $500, except for one that has $25 to $1,000. Players may double down before splitting but not after. The house edge is 0.6% at the Sam’s Town double deck blackjack game.
There are five six-deck shoe tables. Two use continuous shuffle machines. The limits on the continuous shuffle machine tables are $3 to $500. The games dealt out of a shoe have a $5 to $500 bet range. The house edge is 0.77%.
There are two Super Fun 21 tables. One is single deck while the other is double deck. Super Fun 21 has some unusual rules. Double down is permitted after hitting a card, even after the split. Surrender is also allowed, also after drawing, even after splitting pairs. Aces may be re-split and hit. A six-card hand that does not bust wins immediately. A five-card or more 21 wins 2-1 automatically. Blackjack never pushes, but it only pays even money, except when it is suited diamonds. It then pays 2-1. Super Fun 21 has $5 to $500 bet limits.
BConnected for Frequent Blackjack Players
Sam’s Town is a Boyd Gaming casino. Like all Boyd Gaming properties, Sam’s Town uses the BConnected card. The BConnected website displays all available offers to Boyd Gaming players.
Comps are not easy to get at Sam’s Town. Blackjack play does not earn much in the way of comps. Players may receive a free bet equal to half of an average wager through a mailed offer. Free rooms and buffets are even difficult to get. Points are added to the BConnected card at a rate of about 20% of an average bet per hour. Players receive a 30% discount when using points for food as opposed to free play.
What’s Different?
Sam’s Town has the worst blackjack on the Boulder Strip. Players cannot double down after the split on its shoe or double deck games. This makes the house edge 0.76% and 0.6%, respectively. Its house edge is twice as high as what Arizona Charlie’s offers and .2% worse than other competitors.
The Inside View
The blackjack at Sam’s Town would be decent if it was on the Strip, but this is Boulder Highway. The rules at Sam’s Town are terrible considering its location. Not being able to double down after splitting is bad enough for a double deck game, but you can’t do it in the shoes either. The alternative is to play Super Fun 21, which has a house edge over 1%, so it is actually worse.
We recommend moving action to Arizona Charlie’s. Not only can players double down after splitting at Arizona Charlie’s, but players can re-split aces. This includes both the double deck and the shoe game.
The comps at Sam’s Town are also below average. Players can expect little more than a monthly $5 or $10 free bet and buffet for giving blackjack action there. We suggest taking the action somewhere it is appreciated.
There is one bright spot at Sam’s Town. Craps have a $3 minimum bet and offer 20 times odds on the line. There are also several video poker games that return 100% to players. This includes banks of Full Pay Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and Double Double Bonus Poker.