Virgin Las Vegas

Yesterday I paid my first visit to the Virgin Las Vegas, what was formerly the Hard Rock. It had opened the previous day.

I was surprised to find the casino is called the Mohegan Sun and is evidently a separate entity from the hotel, which is under the Virgin brand. The casino doesn't seem any better than it did as the Hard Rock. In fact, I think I liked it better as the Hard Rock. Gone is the center bar with a circle of table games around it. It's now mostly slots with no particular theme. There were entertainers scattered about that received little attention.

Here are some game rules.

Blackjack: On the main casino floor the game was six decks, 3-2, dealer hits soft 17, double after split allowed. No surrender. No re-splitting aces. Mostly $25 minimums. I saw only one table at $15. In the high-limit room they have what I call the "liberal Strip rules": six decks, 3-2, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split allowed, surrender allowed, re-splitting aces allowed. $100 minimum. Kudos for no 6-5 blackjack, but I predict that won't last.

Craps: 3-4-5x odds. They had the Fielder's Choice and Repeater side bets.

Roulette: Main casino floor was all double-zero. High-limit room had single-zero.

Other: The only other two games I noticed were Face Up Pai Gow Poker and Free Bet Blackjack.

Video Poker: Here is a $1 machine I chose randomly on the casino floor:

8-5 Jacks or Better -- 97.30%
8-5 Bonus Poker Deluxe -- 97.40%
7-5 Bonus Poker -- 98.01%
9-6-5 Double Bonus -- 97.81%
9-5 Double Double Bonus -- 97.87%
20-12-9 Deuces Wild -- 97.06%
9-5 Triple Double Bonus -- 97.02%
10-4-3-3 Deuces Wild Bonus -- 97.36%

I then changed the denom to $0.25 and everything was the same, except the Bonus Poker was 35-6-5 at 97.36%.

I then checked a random game in the high limit room and the pay tables were the same at both $5 and $25 denoms.

Video Keno -- Sorry, I forgot to check.

Sports Betting -- They had a small Betfred outlet, which wasn't open yet. I welcome another "out" in Vegas.

I will say the drinks at the tables were a nice pour served in plastic cups. There were dividers between the slots. This would make it awkward to play side by side with a friend as you can't hear each other well.

Here are a couple links:

Mohegan Sun Las Vegas
Virgin Las Vegas

Thanks for that report Wizard. I drove by yesterday, but didn't go in. The blackjack rules are pretty good for Las Vegas, assuming decent penetration, but I suspect that will be offset by Mohegan Sun's very low levels of tolerance.

I finally got around to checking out Virgin Casino and blackjack condition yesterday, almost 2 weeks after they opened. I was in no rush because knowing it is run by Mohegan Sun, I expected this is a location that probably will not end up in my primary rotation because Mohegan Sun Casinos are generally too sweaty.

The casino was very slow on a Monday afternoon, sort of expected as it is off strip with Vegas only beginning to return to some kind of normalcy (mostly on the weekends). As Wizard reported, the rules are decent, very standard 6 deck game, paying 3:2, which is a step up from the final days of Hard Rock. Penetration mediocre. $25 table was empty, so I played heads up, which I always like. Even before I started to raise my bets, very mildly, I felt like I was on display with a pit dude just staring at the game and my play. Maybe because it was slow and he had nothing else to do, but it just had the feel of sweat. lol. The count only got good enough for me to mildly raise my wagers, no where near my max bet, but I left at the shuffle anyway, as I usually would after playing bigger, registering a small win.

As I expected, just felt way too sweaty for me to play very often, but I would like to take a look and give a try during a busier time before I make that decision.

Even if this game can't expand my rotation of games, especially my primary rotation of top games, the New Casino downtown opened end of last year did expand my rotation, and resorts world scheduled to open, who knows? The more options the better.

How much trouble was it to get a players card? Word is they had long lines for that on opening day.


But I'm more interested in the decor.

As I mentioned a few years back in my thread comparing Foxwoods to Mohegan Sun, I just love the decor, and the minute details, in Mohegan Sun.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/other-casinos/1918-mohegan-sun-vs-foxwoods-comparisons/

I'm very curious how much detail and Indian theme they put into the casino.

For the record, Mohegan Sun also operates the casino at Resorts International in AC (no relation to Resorts World). But except for the fine print, Mohegan Sun is barely mentioned. No Mohegan theme there. Of course, they were brought in well after the casino was established, and just to run things, not remodel it.

On the other hand, they also own a racino in PA. I was only there once, about 10 years ago. It had some of the same Mohegan theme, but overall, I was underwhelmed.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

How much trouble was it to get a players card? Word is they had long lines for that on opening day.

I didn't get a players card. Pit guy asked me, but I declines saying I only had a few minutes. That may have contributed to him eyeballing me, but really it may have been he had nothing else to do. There were no other players in that section.

When new casino open, I like to wait on getting a players card. After that initial rush of new players and new casino and all is when they usually start to offer something for new players, matching tier with nearby casino cards, and free play. So I wait for that. Then I hit them with a big coin-in machine play and wait to see what happens. Unfortunately Circa opening last year was part of a player card system of the D, so no new player card incentives. Hopefully both Virgin and later Resorts world will make it worthwhile.

Good summary.

Quote: Wizard

The casino doesn't seem any better than it did as the Hard Rock. In fact, I think I liked it better as the Hard Rock. Gone is the center bar with a circle of table games around it. It's now mostly slots with no particular theme.

Agreed.

What I vaguely remember is that Hard Rock had a pleasing design, with a big open space in the middle and you could walk around the whole thing easily. Now it seems like they chopped up it up into smaller separate areas, making it feel small.

I don't see any reason to go back, but I think Mrs. Q got a card there. It was not busy at all ( if I were an owner/investor, I would be very concerned about the apparent slow start ).

MAYBE there is a small chance of getting a promotional mailing offer of some kind. But I didn't care for it much overall, so we didn't stay for very long.

ps:

Could the Thread Title be tweaked to add "Mohegan Sun". I think that is what the advertising trucks I saw driving around on the Strip said.

Is Mohican now the only Indian casino in Nevada? I'm not sure if Ari is in Nevada or Arizona.

Quote: billryan

Is Mohican now the only Indian casino in Nevada? I'm not sure if Ari is in Nevada or Arizona.

Avi is in Nevada, according to Google Maps. Does Arizona allow sports betting yet? - Avi has a William Hill sportsbook.