MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Report

September brings fall weather to the Northeast, and in 2018, September brought the opening of a brand new casino/hotel to Springfield, MA.  The highly anticipated arrival of the MGM Grand to downtown Springfield certainly brought a well needed injection of jobs and economic activity to western Massachusetts, but also brought national buzz as this casino was carved out of an historic downtown area without removing key landmarks and businesses. I felt this was done very well – but at the end of the day, I’m not really interested in the glitz, the glamour, and the buzz of a new place to socialize.  I am here to see, as an advantage player (please see my previous blog posts), if there is an advantage for a player at this casino.

Here’s what I found out….

I observed all of the games that the MGM Grand offered and also spoke with a number of floor supervisors, pit bosses, dealers, and security personnel.  All were helpful and willing to answer questions and share information.  I began with blackjack.  As I entered the casino at 4:30 eastern time on a Wednesday afternoon, there were only $15 and $25 minimum bet tables open.  Upon a closer look, I saw two things immediately that greatly disturbed my sensibilities as an advantage player.  On every single felt I saw the following rules imprinted: Blackjack pays 6:5 and dealer stands on Soft 17.  Wow!  Just those two rules increase a house advantage over the player by nearly 1.6 percent from player expectation.  Once you sit down you are at a huge disadvantage.  At the $15 tables, I noticed a square black contraption to the dealers left.  I asked a pit boss what that was (I knew what it was!) and she said it was a shuffle machine.  All $15 tables had them, and you CANNOT count cards against them, which further reduces player expectation.  $25 tables are eight deck shoes with no mid shoe entry.  The graveyard shift (4 a.m. to Noon) produces $10 minimum bet tables, but all have shuffle machines.  Simply no advantage for a guy like me.

On every single felt I saw the following rules imprinted: Blackjack pays 6:5 and dealer stands on Soft 17.  Wow!

I moved over to the craps pit and saw a number of $15 minimum wager tables.  I went to the floor supervisor and asked what type of free odds wagers I could make on a pass line bet.  He said the free odds wager can only equal the pass line bet.  So no opportunities for 2X odds, much less 5X and 10X like some other casinos offer.  This rule clearly increases the house advantage and reduces player expectation.  As with blackjack, $10 craps tables are not in play until the graveyard shift.

Just about every video poker machine was being played when I was walking around the casino floor, but I didn’t see one machine with a progressive jackpot for a royal flush.  Another disadvantage to the player.  Needless to say, I was starting to get a little frustrated with the options that I was running into at this location.

The MGM had a very nice, spacious poker room, and would more than likely be the best bet at this facility, for the advantage player.  The room offered as low as a $1-$2 no limit game as well as a $3-$6 limit game with a minimum $30 buy-in, which can get you playing for not very much cash.  The room manager said no tournaments yet, but very soon.  Also, there was no race book (a place where you can bet on horse and dog races) open, but a casino security staffer told me that they have the space to add one and are waiting for the go ahead on the legalization of sports betting in Massachusetts.  As New Jersey has legalized sports betting, and the word on the street is that New York and Connecticut are very close, it would not surprise me to see Massachusetts follow suit very soon.

To conclude, I enjoyed my visit to the MGM Grand in Springfield, but if a player is looking for games that have advantageous odds for the player, he/she will want to look elsewhere.  The facility has top notch restaurants, an outdoor courtyard where dance music/DJs are set up for fun evening entertainment, and a beautiful hotel.  If you are in the Springfield/Hartford area and you decide to come here, enjoy the facility for the reasons I just described. However, if you choose to wager (except for poker) you are at a decided player disadvantage, so BEWARE.

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