Fontainebleau Report (part 1)

December 2023 was a good month for casino openings in Las Vegas with two, the Fontainebleau (which I’ll refer to as the FB from now on) and the Durango. The previous opening was the Circa in October 2020. You may recall my December 7, 2023 newsletter was on the Durango.

According to Wikipedia, the FB is modeled after a hotel by the same name in Miami. Construction on it began in 2007 and stopped, 75% completed, in 2009. It then sat there as an eyesore for many years. One of my favorite trivia questions was “What is the tallest building in Las Vegas, besides the Stratosphere?” Rarely did anyone produce the correct answer during this lull in construction, which was the FB.

After ownership of the property changed at least twice, construction resumed in November 2021, by the original owner. By the time it was finished, it was the second most expensive construction project in Las Vegas at $3.7 billion. In case you’re wondering, Resorts World is number one at $4.3 billion.

I paid a visit on Saturday, December 16, on its third day of operations. The casino was a vast open space with a very high ceiling. There was a lot of white marble and blue carpeting. Once I went to a talk on casino design where the speaker said blue is an awful color for casinos. However, I think the architect was going for a casino that doesn’t look like a typical Las Vegas casino. If you took the tables and machines out, you would have no idea the building was meant to be a casino. The look is more like a modern airport. The one in Hong Kong, which is outstanding, comes to mind. The second floor is evidently intended for shopping and restaurants, which is mostly still walled off. The third floor is for meeting space and the pool.

The rest of this newsletter will be devoted to the table games available and rules. Here is a count of the table games on the main floor, which does not include the high limit room.

Game	Tables
Blackjack	29
Free Bonus Blackjack	2
Baccarat	8
Craps	6
Crapless Craps	2
Roulette	5
Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em	4
Dealer Open Pai Gow	2
High Card Flush	2
Three Card Poker	1
Pai Gow Poker	1
Total	62

 

Of the 25 blackjack tables, 25 paid 6-5 on a blackjack with a minimum of at least $25. There were only four legitimate 3-2 tables, two at a $25 minimum, one at $50 and one at $100.

Otherwise, the rules were mostly:

• Dealer hits soft 17
• Six decks
• Double after split allowed
• Re-splitting aces allowed up to four hands
• Surrender not allowed

The house edge under these rules is 0.57% if a blackjack pays 3-2 and 1.93% if it pays 6-5.

There were a few double-deck tables, two paying 6-5 and one paying 3-2. The 3-2 was the $100 minimum table mentioned earlier. I was told the rules were otherwise the same as the six-deck game, but most dealers didn’t seem to know the rules completely. In the high limit rule, re-splitting aces was not allowed in the double-deck game, which I suspect is the case on the main floor.

The baccarat was all Tiger Baccarat, which is the type that pays 1-2 on a winning Banker bet with a total of 6. As a reminder, this increases the house edge on the Banker bet from 1.06% to 1.46%.

In craps, the odds were 3x-4x-5x. The field followed the generous 3-1 win on a 12. I was told buying the 4 or 10 the commission is charged only on a win. Of the six craps tables, one had a $15 minimum, one was $50 and the other four were at $25.

Dealer Open Pai Gow is the same thing as Face Up Pai Gow. Meanwhile, Free Bonus Blackjack is the same thing as Free Bet Blackjack. Finally, Super 4 Poker is the same thing as Crazy 4 Poker. Don’t let the names fool you.

Of the five roulette tables, four were double-zero and one was triple-zero.

Here is my table count in the high limit room. This does not count any private rooms, which they clearly had.

Game	Tables
Blackjack	6
Baccarat	10
Craps	1

 

Four of the ten blackjack tables follow what I call the “liberal strip rules,” which are:

• Dealer stands on soft 17
• Six decks
• Double after split allowed
• Re-splitting aces allowed up to four hands
• Surrender allowed

The house edge under these rules, assuming a cut card, is 0.29%.

Of the four six-deck games, three had a $500 minimum and one at $300.

The rules on the three double-deck games are the same, except surrender and re-splitting aces were not allowed. This results in a house edge of 0.26%. This is tied for the best blackjack rules in Las Vegas. Some of the MGM properties also have this set of rules in their high-limit rooms.

Of the three two-deck games, two had a $500 minimum and one at $300.

The following is the correct basic strategy for the double-deck game in the FB high limit room. In the six-deck game, the only changes are to hit 11 vs. A and 9 vs. 2.

Of the ten baccarat tables, three had a $300 minimum and seven were at $500.

The craps table was closed at the time of my visit. I would lay good odds they remove it, as craps tables in high limit rooms never last in Vegas.

That is my report on the table games at the FB. Next week I’ll report on the video poker and video keno.

Meanwhile, I wish you a merry Christmas, festive Festivus and spiritual winter solstice.