| For true low rollers, Indiana is the play. You'll find $5 tables at Trump and Majestic Star. Combine low limits with favorable rules, and Trump offers the best game for players on a budget. **What are the table maximums and minimums? High rollers looking for casinos that will take the big action will find that Horseshoe doesn't bat an eye at $10,000 a hand action. But most of us are looking for tables that will accommodate low- to mid-level play. If you want to play for $25 a hand, any local casino will take care of you. But if you're looking for lower minimums, the lowest in the area are at Trump and Majestic Star. Both have table games with $5 minimum bets. Trump even puts $5 minimums on all table games on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. You'll find $5 minimums elsewhere on some select games--the Spanish 21 tables at Harrah's East Chicago, for example--but basically, outside Gary it's a $10-and-up world. **Are there any house rules that make a difference? You'll encounter minor variations in pay tables on the Caribbean Stud progressive bet, but basically house edges on most table games are the same all over. Aside from blackjack, the game in which house rules make the most difference is craps. A few years ago, when we were worrying about double odds vs. 3x, 4x, 5x odds, free odds were a major consideration. Now all casinos allow you to back your pass/don't pass and come/don't come bets with enough odds that only exceptionally well-bankrolled players are taking all available odds. There is one craps rule in this market that makes a difference to average players. At Horseshoe, when you buy a number, the house collects a commission only if you win, while other casinos in the area collect a 5 percent commission, win or lose. So which casino is tops in table games? Start in Indiana because of variety. Beyond that, it depends on what you want, with Trump and Majestic Star's low minimums, Horseshoe's craps rules and Harrah's East Chicago's poker room all being potential deciding factors. **The two Harrah's casinos and Empress aim mid-market, with Harrah's perhaps a bit more upper-middle than Empress. Harrah's East Chicago tries to be all things to all people, and succeeds to some extent because it is so large - its 680 nickel games are most in the area, but it also ranks second to Horseshoe in both quarters (503) and dollars (563). **Trump, with 711 2-cent and 5-cent games, has the most nickel-and-under games in the area. Majestic Star, with 623 at 1, 2 and 5 cents, has 40.5 percent of its games at 5 cents or less, second to Trump's 40.8 percent. |
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