We continue this month with the second of a two-part look at blackjack conditions on the Boulder Strip, located on the east side of Las Vegas. In the April issue of Blackjack Insider Newsletter, I started downtown with the Gold Spike and ended with the two northernmost casinos on Boulder Highway – Arizona Charlie’s and Boulder Station. This month, I ventured about two and half miles south to Sam’s Town, then next door to the Eastside Cannery, and across the street to the Longhorn casino.

After a few days of Vegas summertime come early in the form of sweltering, record-breaking heat, it was a pleasant, early mid-week evening when I began my descent south to the Boulder Strip from my home in North Las Vegas. I drove through downtown and picked up Fremont Street on the edge of the Fremont East Entertainment District, and made my way past the now boarded Western Hotel and Casino. The drive from downtown to the Boulder Strip is relatively painless, approximately ten miles to the southernmost casino, the Eastside Cannery, but different. There are many remotely iconic buildings, former establishments, and characters along this route – the Blue Angel Hotel, the Atomic Liquor Lounge, and the Silver Saddle Dance Hall and Saloon come to mind. Several weekly hotel and apartment rentals, catering to people down on their luck, or at least in a different place than most of us, line the route closer to downtown. Before sundown, it’s an interesting drive, and even in broad daylight, you’ll probably see something you don’t see back home everyday. On this particular journey, I saw two pay phones – being used – on two different street corners. I wonder if they were talking "bidness" with one another.

Fremont Street turns into Boulder Highway as you cross Sahara Avenue and exit the Las Vegas city limits. At this point, you’re just a few minutes from Sam’s Town, my first stop. (If you want to head out to Boulder Highway from the Las Vegas Strip, I recommend taking Flamingo Avenue. It’s a straight shot east and spits you out right in front of the Sam’s Town casino.)

Sam’s Town is nestled in the shadow of the Sunrise Mountains, just a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip. The property has 646 hotel rooms and suites, and caters to both locals and out of town visitors alike. The Sam’s Town located in Tunica, Mississippi was once my home casino for a few years, and through it and the Boyd Gaming marketing folks, I had spent a few nights at this hotel over the years on comps or very reasonably priced offers. (For example, "Buy one night at $24.95 and get the next night free" comes to mind.) Sam’s Town Las Vegas was never a main attraction for me on Vegas visits, but for a longer trip, it provided good value, good games, and a good diversion from the joints on or surrounding the Strip. Although I never used it, Sam’s still offers a free shuttle service to downtown and the Strip. It allegedly goes to the airport twice a day as well, but be sure to check with the hotel staff to confirm schedules and operating hours.

The table games at Sam’s Town are centrally located near the Race and Sports Book and the cashier’s cage. There is one main pit and two smaller pits across from it. The main pit is composed of thirteen tables that include two roulette wheels and three poker games – Caribbean Stud, Deuces Wild Stud, and Pai Gow Poker. The remaining tables include five double-deck blackjack games, one six-deck blackjack game dealt from a continuous shuffler, and two Super Fun 21 tables – one single deck, the other double deck. One of the smaller pits was composed of three Pai Gow games and three blackjack tables. The other pit had six blackjack tables. Many of the blackjack games offer the Pair Square side bet, where players can place a bet in hopes of being dealt a pair. There were also four craps tables nearby, offering 20 x odds and $5-$3,000 betting limits. Only two tables were open in the secondary pits when I visited, both offering Pai Gow poker.