[Mr. AtlanticCity]

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They would make much more money off a full $5 table then an empty $15 table.

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a few months ago I replied to a similar argument on another forum:

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there is a chapter about table game occupancy and bet limits in the textbook "Casino Operations Management".

the theory is, casino profits are tied not to the number of PLAYER hands the house plays against, rather it is the number of DEALER hands resolved where the payout (and the house advantage) occurs.

in other words, 5 players betting $5 a hand is NOT the same action to the casino as one player playing $25 a hand. the COM book shows that a 5-handed table will generate 70 DEALER hands per hour, assuming a 1% house edge (just for comparison sake) would be a net theoretical profit of $17.50 an hour ($1750 gross action x 0.01).

but by making the table limit $25 in hopes that just ONE player will sit down heads up, the DEALER hands increase to about 200 per hour. that creates a profit of $50.00 an hour ($5000 x 0.01). the variance and risk of ruin is also increased in favor of the house versus having to beat 5 players at once for 1/5 each the exposure.

for that extra $32.50 an hour, the casino is willing to risk having a dealer sit in front of an empty table in hopes of a green chipper showing up. higher bankrolled players generally like having less people at the table anyway.

it's true that low limit players make a lot of money for the casinos, but that's really only in terms of SLOTS. table games are offered at the discretion of the casino for maximum overall profit. a slight loss of fixed costs (eg. dealer at empty table) once in a while is of little significance in the long run. 21st century overhead, a full $5 blackjack table can actually be UNprofitable vs. a $15-25 table which is active only half the time, especially if there are fewer players (again, more dealer hands). this applies to virtually all table games, where more players at the table increase payout times and decrease dealer decisions per hour.

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Very interesting. I never thought of it that way. Although I know it, I never thought to think it hands/hour in relation to number of players at the table. Thanks for the post.

I still think they should drop them down to $5, but I know the casino is not in the business of "giving" anything to customers.