Spanish 21 Rules at Mt. Airy Casino.... Need clarification

Hey everyone.

I usually play SP21 in AC, but will be heading to Mt. Airy in a couple of weeks. When looking at the "Game Tutorial", I noticed an interesting twist (possibly) to their rules for their new SP21 tables. Here is the exact wording from the Tutorial PDF:

"...The main difference between Spanish 21 and Blackjack is that in Spanish 21, all the 10s have been removed from the deck. Jacks, Queens and Kings remain, but no natural 10s are used. In Spanish 21, a player’s 21 always beats the dealer’s 21 unless the dealer has a Blackjack that is an Ace and a Jack."

To me, this has two possible meanings, as they seem to be interchanging the use of the terms "21" and "blackjack". It could mean that a player BLACKJACK wins, except for when the dealer has a blackjack with an Ace and a Jack.

OR

It could mean that any player 21 (composed of more than 2 cards) beats a dealer's BLACKJACK unless the dealer has an Ace and Jack combo. If they meant that a player's multi-card 21 would lose to a dealer's BJ, then there would be no purpose in mentioning anything about Ace/Jack BJs specifically, right?

So, if they mean the first rule, it would be beneficial to the house, I imagine, as a player BJ is always supposed to win vs. a house BJ in SP21, and this rule would defy that. If it means the latter, then it greatly helps the player (as the dealer's chances of beating the player with a BJ is cut by 66%).

Does anyone know for certain what is meant by this rule at Mt. Airy? And if it is indeed the latter meaning (which benefits the player), what would the House Edge be, assuming all other rules are in step with A.C. SP21 rules?

Thanks!

I've only been to Mt. Airy once, and it was at 2am on a Monday morning. However, I don't recall seeing a Spanish 21 table anywhere in the casino. They definitely could have added it, so I'm not doubting you now, but in December, it wasn't there.

Regardless, PA has very strict rules about table games. The rules are consistent from casino to casino. I've not heard that rule being implemented at any of the casinos that have Spanish, but if my memory serves me correctly, I only saw the game at Harrah's Chester. This certainly could be a PA rule, but it would be very odd, given that Spanish 21 is a licensed game.

My interpretation is they follow the standard rule, which is "Player 21 always wins, except if dealer has a blackjack." I think the person who wrote the rules there didn't know what constitutes a blackjack, incorrectly thinking it is an ace and a jack.

Mount Airy just revised their gaming guide in April.
the last edition was poorly written and described their blackjack game as having early surrender.
my guess is that they missed this misstatement of the spanish rules.

i love this casino, they have a really nice high limit/Asian section, The Dragon Room.
this is where the $50 and $100 blackjack are.
(it also has 10 tables of $50 midi-bac, and 1 table each of $25 pai gow and pai gow poker.)

Tiltpoul, If PA is very strict about table rules, and the game is licensed, does that mean that even if a casino wanted to change the rules as I described above, they could not do it?

If that's the case, then I would have to assume they made a mistake while typing up the game tutorial. But I thought there were casinos where games such as blackjack have been given all kinds of quirky rules or different payouts (such as 6-5 on a BJ). Is BJ not a licensed game?

Quote: JVIPER88

Tiltpoul, If PA is very strict about table rules, and the game is licensed, does that mean that even if a casino wanted to change the rules as I described above, they could not do it?

If that's the case, then I would have to assume they made a mistake while typing up the game tutorial. But I thought there were casinos where games such as blackjack have been given all kinds of quirky rules or different payouts (such as 6-5 on a BJ). Is BJ not a licensed game?

Blackjack itself is not a proprietary game. The SIDE BETS offered often make the layouts a proprietary game, but the actual game itself is in "public domain" or whatever you want to call it. That's why so many people come up with side bets.

I believe Masque owns the rights to Spanish 21, though that might be different now. People can make certain rule changes (like hitting or standing on soft 17), but you can't just put up a Spanish 21 layout without paying rights (I think).

However, in PA, they set the rules from casino to casino. The casinos can choose which games to offer; for instance, casinos on the west side of the state DON'T offer Pai Gow Tiles. However, all casinos must Stand on soft 17. This is consistent from casino to casino. Spanish 21 would be the same way, so whatever the rules are in one casino will be the same everywhere in the state.