When it comes to casino brands, Harrah’s has one of the largest footprints in the world. With 18 casinos carrying Harrah’s name, few gambling brands rival them. But this site is about blackjack, so this post covers Harrah’s blackjack games.
Harrah’s offers blackjack in their land-based casinos and they also offer blackjack games in their online casino. Currently, Harrah’s online casino can only accept gamblers located in New Jersey.
All of Harrah’s gambling properties operate under the Caesars Entertainment umbrella now. But it hasn’t always been this way. After you learn about all of Harrah’s blackjack games, you can learn a little bit about their history and how they ended up in the Caesars family of companies.
Harrah’s Las Vegas Blackjack
Harrah’s Las Vegas, located at 3475 South Las Vegas Boulevard, opened in 1972 and was called the Holiday Casino.
Of the 80 table games in the casino, you can play at 30 blackjack tables. Sadly, about half of the Harrah’s blackjack tables only pay 6 to 5 for blackjack. And most of the available 6 to 5 blackjack tables use eight decks, making them some of the worst blackjack games in Las Vegas.
The only possible upside to playing a 6 to 5 eight deck game at Harrah’s is the minimum bet is $10. While a $10 bet might be attractive, you can find blackjack games offering better rules with the same minimum bet are available elsewhere on the strip.
Harrah’s Las Vegas also has some blackjack tables paying 3 to 2 for blackjack, so if you play you have to find one of these tables.
The best blackjack games at Harrah’s Las Vegas for most gamblers are the double deck games. The minimum bet at these tables runs $25, and the maximum bet limit sits at $3,000. These tables pay 3 to 2 for blackjack, allow double down, but don’t allow double after splitting.
If you’re a high roller, the blackjack games are better. The bet limits run from $100 minimum to $10,000 maximum. These games offer surrender and double down after splitting.
Harrah’s Las Vegas also offers a Triple Attack Blackjack table with a $5 minimum bet limit.
Harrah’s Atlantic City Blackjack
Located at 777 Harrah’s Boulevard, Harrah’s Atlantic City also goes by the name Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City.
The Harrah’s Atlantic City blackjack games are pretty much the standard mix of games found in the big Atlantic City casinos.
All blackjack games are either six deck or eight deck games. Some tables pay 6 to 5 for blackjack and some pay 3 to 2. The 6 to 5 tables use a $20 minimum bet limit, but even with a low bet limit, these games are bad. All of the 6 to 5 tables use eight decks.
If you can’t afford the higher bet limits at the 3 to 2 blackjack tables in Harrah’s Atlantic City, you shouldn’t play. The house is too high on 6 to 5 blackjack games.
The eight deck blackjack games paying 3 to 2 for blackjack use a $5 minimum bet. The maximum limit is $1,000 at these tables.
But the best blackjack games use six decks and pay 3 to 2. The problem with these tables is the minimum bet limit is $50. But these tables offer the lowest house edge in the casino.
Harrah’s Atlantic City offers one table with Double Attack Blackjack. The table minimum runs $10 with a $500 max bet.
Harrah’s Online Blackjack Games
New Jersey legalized online blackjack play and Harrah’s obtained a license. But they only offer online blackjack games to players located in New Jersey.
If you live in New Jersey you can play as long as you’re in the state. But if you travel out of the state, you can’t play until you get back in the state. And you don’t have to live in New Jersey to play. But you have to travel to the state to legally play.
Here’s a list of blackjack games you can play online at Harrah’s, with additional information about the popular variations.
Classic Blackjack
Harrah’s online classic blackjack game uses six decks. The game uses a minimum bet of $1 and a maximum bet of $300. The stated maximum return to player is 99.52%.
A return of 99.52% means the house edge comes in at .48%. Overall, a .48% house edge compares well to most decent online blackjack games. It’s not the best, but it’s also far from the worst.
But the important thing to remember is playing with perfect basic strategy is the only way to achieve the maximum return.
Harrah’s classic blackjack game offers split, double down, insurance, and even money. And the dealer stands on a soft 17. After splitting, you don’t have the option of splitting again.
Some gamblers use the term even money and insurance interchangeably. But even money is when you have a blackjack and the dealer shows an ace. In this game, you can take even money in this situation and receive 1 to 1 immediately. So, even if the dealer has a blackjack, you win.
Premium Classic Blackjack
Harrah’s online premium classic blackjack uses the same rules as their classic blackjack game. The main difference comes from the bet limits, which go from a minimum bet of $5 to a maximum bet of $2,000.
The table also uses black felt instead of green.
Here are the other blackjack games available online:
- IGT Poker and Pairs Blackjack
- IGT Blackjack with Surrender
- NetEnt Classic Blackjack
- Multihand Blackjack
- Four Deck Super Stakes Blackjack
- Zappit Blackjack
- Super Fun 2 Extreme
- Blazing 777 Blackjack
Other Harrah’s Blackjack Casinos
While Harrah’s Las Vegas and Harrah’s Atlantic City are the most well known casinos operating under the Harrah’s brand, they aren’t the only Harrah’s casinos.
Here’s a list of other Harrah’s casinos currently in operation:
- Harrah’s Gulf Coast
- Harrah’s Lake Tahoe
- Harrah’s Laughlin
- Harrah’s New Orleans
- Harrah’s Northern California
- Harrah’s Resort Southern California
- Harrah’s Philadelphia
- Harrah’s Ak Chin Casino
- Harrah’s Council Bluffs
- Harrah’ Cherokee
- Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River
- Harrah’ Hoosier Park Racing and Casino
- Harrah’s Joliet
- Harrah’s Metropolis
- Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
- Harrah’s North Kansas City
With the size of Harrah’s and Caesars, the parent company, don’t be surprised if new Harrah’s casinos open in the future as casino gambling comes to more states.
Former Harrah’s Blackjack Casinos
For a company that’s been around as long as Harrah’s and a company that’s as big as Harrah’s, it’s not a surprise that many casinos carrying Harrah’s name are no longer under the name. A few former Harrah’s properties have closed, but many are owned and operated by other companies.
Here’s a list of former Harrah’s casinos
- Harrah’s East Chicago – Now the Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago.
- Harrah’s Reno – Now closed. Supposedly undergoing new construction and will reopen.
- Harrah’s Sky City – Now Skycity Auckland.
- Harrah’s Casino Tunica – Now closed.
- Harrah’s Prairie Band – Now Prairie Band Casino and Resort.
- Harrah’s Shreveport – Now Sam’s Town Shreveport.
- Harrah’s St Louis – Now Hollywood Casino St Louis.
Harrah’s, Caesars, Eldorado, Promus, and Vici
The Harrah’s Entertainment Company was formed in 1990, but the brand started in 1937. The founder, Bill Harrah, opened a bingo operation in Reno, Nevada.
In 1971, Harrah’s went public. They were the first casino company listed by the New York Stock Exchange. Holiday Inn bought Harrah’s in 1980. Holiday Inn spun off assets including Harrah’s and formed a new company, called Promus, in 1990.
Five years later, another spin off move created Harrah’s Entertainment. While Caesars is the name of the current giant gambling company, Harrah’s purchased Caesars in 2005. Harrah’s Entertainment changed its corporate name to Caesars Entertainment in 2010.
Another spin off in 2017 created Vici Properties. The spin off separated the businesses and real estate holdings of the company. Vici Properties was formed as a real estate investment trust
Finally, in 2020, Eldorado Resorts merged with Caesars Entertainment. The new company chose the Caesars name for the company moving forward.
Caesars Entertainment operates 50 properties at the time I wrote this post, making it one of the largest gambling companies in the world. Depending on how you rank gambling companies, Caesars Entertainment ranks in the top three in many categories, including the total number of properties.
Conclusion
For being one of the largest casino brands in the world, Harrah’s blackjack games leave a lot to be desired. Yes, you can play blackjack in Harrah’s casino properties. But you can find better blackjack games in many other casinos.
The blackjack games in Harrah’s Las Vegas and Atlantic City are average at best. And the online blackjack games in Harrah’s casino are decent, but not great.
Overall, I’m not impressed with Harrah’s blackjack. If you’re in a Harrah’s casino, find a 3 to 2 game. But don’t travel to Harrah’s just for the blackjack, or you’re going to be disappointed.