In April of 2016, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas made a dramatic change to its craps pit by changing all of the tables.
This was the first time in the fifty year history of Caesars that all of the tables in its legendary Palace Casino were all
identical with the same shapes and sizes and layouts. It also meant that tables that were in service for a half century which
saw play with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. and countless other entertainment and sports celebrities as well as from players
around the world, and which saw one wedding performed at a craps table, had been retired and removed. Below is our discussion
about the new tables and how they will impact dealers and players.
And then in April of
2017, Caesars Palace made another change to the layouts on its craps tables by adding a new one-roll bet called the "Over/Under"
and lowering the payouts on its popular Bonus Bets. Read more below.
MORE CHANGES IN THE CAESARS PALACE CRAPS PIT IN MAY
2017
Update June 2, 2017 Caesars Palace which is probably the craps
industry leader in Las Vegas rolled out new changes to about half of its craps tables during the month of May. On these tables
the Bonus Craps bets were replaced with "repeater bets" that paid players if numbers they bet on were rolled a particular
minimum number of times. During the first two weeks that the "repeater bets" were available there were mixed reviews.
Sometimes the "repeater bets" were active and other times they were ignored by players. See the photo below of the
new table layout featuring the repeater bets.
As you can see there are boxes for each number on
the table including the horn numbers. The dealers keep track of how many times each number is rolled to determine if the repeater
bet will be paid. There are markers for these numbers from 2 to 12. There is no repeater bet for 7. The payouts are attractive
but dealers told me that they are rarely paid.
For the 2 or 12 to be paid, those numbers need
to be rolled twice but unlike the usual horn bet on the 2 and 12 these repeater bets are not one roll bets. Hitting the 2
or 12 twice pays 40 for 1 but they don't require to be hit "on the hop" or on one specific roll.
Also, few players elect to hedge their repeater bets with lay bets when the repeaters get close to a payoff. For
example, when five of the 8s have been rolled, a player might want to hedge his bet by laying the 8.
Craps layout at Caesars Palace Las Vegas with
"repeater bets" that replaced Bonus Craps.
CAESARS PALACE CHANGES THE TABLE LAYOUTS IN APRIL 2017
Update May 3, 2017 Caesars Palace has changed the layouts on its craps tables again. This time, they
added a new one-roll bet that allows you to bet that the next roll with either be a number that is under a 7 or a number that
is over a 7. This bet pays even money. I was told by the dealers that the bet is rarely made. In the photo below you will
see that the bet on the layout is in the standard colors and this was an error. The layouts will have to be replaced because
one-roll bets at Caesars have an orange color to distinguish them from bets that remain on the table until a 7 is rolled.
Added in April 2017 a one-roll "over or under 7"
bet at Caesars Palace. Few players make the bet.
Of more interest to many players at Caesars Palace is that the payoffs
on the popular Bonus Craps bets were lowered. The "Small" and the "Tall" were lowered from 35 for 1 to
31 for 1, and the "All" was dramatically lowered from 176 for 1 to only 151 for one. While players complained about
the lower payoffs, it didn't appear the new payoffs kept anyone from still betting the Bonus. Bellagio, next door to Caesars,
also lowered its payoffs on the Bonus Craps bets.
In April 2017 Caesars Palace lowered the pays on
the Bonus Craps bets. Few players noticed.
Here's a photo of the original Bonus Craps pays.
The payout on the ALL is the most significant.
There may be more changes coming to the layouts soon. In addition
to a reprinting to change the color on the Over/Under bet, there is a rumor (and I have to emphasize that it's only a rumor)
that Caesars might change some of its tables to offer the "repeater bets" instead of the Bonus Craps bets. The repeater
bets are bets that pay if certain numbers are rolled a prescribed number of times by each shooter.
THE NEW TABLES AT CAESARS PALACE
Update April 19, 2016 When you first walk into the main casino at Caesars Palace which is called The
Palace Casino, nothing appears different about its craps pit. But if you had been to Caesars before you might notice some
differences -- mainly that the wood tables appear clean and new because they are, and the layouts are now on a brown felt
instead of the previous green felt. Brown seems to be the new color scheme for Caesars. It's a more sophisticated look than
the old green felts. There are other, more subtle changes and it appears that the changes were made to actually help the dealers
run the craps games and to make it easier on the dealers' backs.
First, let's discuss the physical
tables. They are all identical with the same shapes and sizes. Previously, several of the tables in the Palace Casino at Caesars
had different shapes and some were mounted on blocks of wood so they would have a uniform height. Now, all the tables are
the same: same size, same shape, same height, same width.
These new tables are actually slightly
taller than the previous tables which means the craps dealers will not have to bend over as far as in the past to pay bets
and take chips. I am sure this was done to help the dealers and their backs becuase in the past dealers often have complained
about back problems. The table surface is also a bit higher than before, which again makes it easier on the dealers and actually
makes it easier for players as well.
While the changes to the physical tables appear subtle, there
are more obvious changes to the layout and they are shown in the photos below.
In the first photo,
the most obvious change is that the entire betting layout with places for bets, has been moved closer to the dealers and the
layout has been made smaller even though the physical tables are slightly larger. This means a smaller area for the "Come"
and "Field" boxs. It also means there is more space between the passline betting area and the wall or sides of the
table. A Caesars 50th Anniversary graphic has been added. See the first photo below.
New craps table layout at Caesars Palace
shows 50th anniversary of Las Vegas casino.
In the second photo below you get a better idea of how the
entire betting layout has been moved closer to the dealer's reach. The "base dealer" who serves this side of the
table stands right behind the "box numbers" of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and now has all of the betting positions closer
to him. The tables still allow for seven players on each side, but each player has slightly more room because the tables are
slightly longer and slightly wider. If there is any impact on the players it is this: they will have to toss their chips a
bit farther to the base dealer to place bets on the box numbers, and the passline and don't pass line is now a few more inches
from the wall of the table. If you are shooting the dice, there is now more room between the passline and the odds bets and
the back wall.
The Caesars layout moves the gaming space
towards the dealers, making it easier for dealers.
In the third photo below you see the center table bets which
include the Bonus Craps bets known as the Small, Tall, All Bets, and sometimes called the "feature bets." Caesars
switched from the Fire Bet to the Bonus Craps bets a few weeks ago and when they switched to Bonus Craps they also added locations
for "hop bets" or one roll bets. Previously there were no positions for hop bets and dealers would place the hop
bets on a blank spot on the layouts. Having an actual position for the hop bets means that disputes are less likely.
Look carefully at the Bonus Craps betting area because this is actually the second version of these new layouts.
In Bonus Craps there is a payoff for the Small numbers being rolled before a 7 and those small numbers are 2, 3, 4, 5 and
6; and there is a payoff for the Tall numbers being rolled before a 7 and those tall numbers are 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. There
is also a jackpot if ALL the numbers are rolled before a 7. In the first version of the new layouts, the ALL included the
number 7 printed on the layouts. After the first few layouts were installed on the new tables some dealers noticed the error
and the layouts were removed and new layouts were ordered. These new second version layouts are now on the tables. There are
some other minor printing errors including the name Bonus Craps is not evenly spaced on both sides of the drop box.
This is the second version of the new layouts.
First version had incorrect Bonus Craps info.
Above the center table betting layout is a space for
the casino chip bank. The chip bank on the new tables is not as deep as with the previous tables which means fewer rows of
stacks of chips which might mean more frequent chip fills or slightly more time spent on chip fills. This is not really significant
but I thought I would mention it.
There are still rails for chips and shelves for drinks
and that hasn't changed. As I mentioned the tables still fit seven players on each side and that hasn't changed from the previous
design even though each player has slightly more elbow room.
All in all with the exception of
a more pleasing eye color (brown) and more space behind the passline for dice throwers to avoid hitting chips, it appears
the table changes were made to make it better for the dealers. I think it was a wise move for Caesars Palace to have these
new ergonomic design changes. They are subtle changes but ergonomics is important for the employees and for business operations.
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