Winstar Casino Blackjack Ante
Oklahoma is just 45 minutes of where I sit in my home office as I write this post. Just over the Texas border, with Oklahoma is the world’s largest casino, WinStar.
- Winstar Casino Blackjack Antennas
- Winstar Casino Blackjack Antenna Tv
- Winstar Casino Blackjack Anterior
The roulette online games for the Winstar Casino don’t operate that way. They have got a vendor that has a deck of cards. The vendor scans the playing card into a machine, then the animated roulette wheel spins and lands to the House that corresponds to the cardboard that was dealt.I don’t have any explanation to feel that the chance on the. The first quirky law every casino has in common – there are ante requirements for all casino games. The ante varies depending on the game. Blackjack tables have a 50-cent ante, and craps and roulette tables have a $1.00 ante. It’s weird, but it’s also part of playing table games in the state. Best Three Casinos to Visit in Oklahoma. A true casino classic. It’s one of the oldest table games, one of the easiest to learn and also one that’s guaranteed to always be a good time. The game is simple: reach a card value as close to 21 (Blackjack) as possible – without going over, or “busting.” The strategies can get as complex as you like, though.
WinStar is probably the most well-known casino in Oklahoma, which is itself a newcomer to the American casino scene.
But it’s not a a gambling destination to overlook when you’re planning your next casino vacation.
The History of Gambling in Oklahoma
Gambling in Oklahoma has a recent history.
The Sooner State made horse racing legal in 1982. Compared to Nevada, Oklahoma was late to the gambling party. Nevada legalized gambling in 1949.
Oklahoma would wait another 10 years before making it legal to play bingo for money. If your grandma won money playing bingo before 1992 in OK, it was probably under the table.
In 2003, Oklahoma would legalize the lottery. This was in keeping with a nationwide trend of setting up state-run lotteries. People were driving across state lines to play the lottery.
Oklahoma saw this as a lost revenue opportunity and created their own lottery commission. Now, instead of their residents traveling to Texas to buy tickets, they could spend their lottery dollars in their home state.
Here’s a side note:
Casinos became legal the same year that lotteries became legal. 2004 was a big year for the Sooner State. There are quite a few requirements for casinos in Oklahoma. I will get into that shortly. All casinos in Oklahoma are required to be located and operated by native tribes.
Laws Surrounding Casinos in Oklahoma
Here are the basic gambling/ casino rules for the state of Oklahoma:
What Is the Legal Gambling Age in Oklahoma?
18-21. The age range depends on the casino. Make sure to check the age requirements before visiting any Oklahoma casino.
Can Anyone Open a Casino?
No. The state mandated that the casinos in Oklahoma must be located on native lands and run by native tribes. This mandate is spelled out that native tribes have an exclusivity agreement with the state and pay 4-10% tax for this agreement.
Native tribes were the primary operators of horse tracks and most of the state’s bingo halls. Once the state legalized casinos, the native tribe racetracks and bingo halls converted to casinos.
Pay close attention to this story as it unfolds. This could be a huge shift in native lands casinos in this country. Oklahoma Governor Stitt has filed a lawsuit to halt operation of native casinos in his state.
Is There Anything Else I Need to Know About Oklahoma Gambling Laws?
Yes, there are a few quirks to Oklahoma’s gambling laws.
The first quirky law every casino has in common – there are ante requirements for all casino games. The ante varies depending on the game. Blackjack tables have a 50-cent ante, and craps and roulette tables have a $1.00 ante. It’s weird, but it’s also part of playing table games in the state.
Best Three Casinos to Visit in Oklahoma
This is my list of my favorite casinos and casino resorts to visit in the Sooner State. They are in no particular order. Some of the casinos you’ve heard of and some of the casinos are off the beaten path.
WinStar – Thackerville, OK
Let’s get this one off the table. WinStar is Oklahoma’s, America’s, and the World’s largest casino. WInStar is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation.
This truly mega casino opened its doors as the WinStar Casino the same year that Oklahoma legalized gambling in casinos. 2004 was a game changer for the native tribe gambling establishments.
WinStar renamed itself as the WinStar Word Casino and Resort in 2013. This same year it beat out Foxwoods Casino, a native lands casino in CT, as the largest casino in the world.
WInStar boasts 370,00 square feet with a poker room made up of 55 tables, over 8,500 gaming machines, over 100 gambling tables, keno, and a high roller suite.
If you’re looking for entertainment options, WInStar is home to the Global Events Center, a concert venue that has over 3,500 seats. Famous acts make tour stops on a regular basis.
I was able to see one of my favorite TV actors, Jerry Seinfeld, do his standup act there in the summer of 2019.
If you’re a foodie like my husband and I, you’ll be looking for dining options. WinStar World Casino and Resort offers options for all tastes and budget options.
Wanting a classic steak house experience?
Check.
Want a quick bite to soak up last night’s revelries before hitting the casino floor?
Check.
Your kid only eats spaghetti?
They’ve got Italian food too.
Don’t forget that WinStar also had its own PGA designed golf course. If you’re a fan of the Netflix hit documentary, Tiger King, it’s just a short drive to visit Joe Exotic’s former zoo.
WinStar is unique in its size and location. It’s just over an hour drive from the Dalls-Fort Worth Metroplex, one of the largest cities in America. This also makes traveling to the mega casino resort a breeze.
If you’re new to gambling in Oklahoma casinos, then WInStar World Casino and Resort is a great place to start.
Don’t get lost, though.
My son’s college roommate was there for a bachelor party and was lost for four hours. With a dead phone. And a little tipsy.
You’ve been warned.
Choctaw Casino and Resort – Durant, OK
Choctaw Casino and Resort in Durant, OK is the flagship location of the Choctaw Nation’s chain of casinos and resorts. The Durant location is located on 50 acres belonging to the Choctaw Nation.
As required by Oklahoma gaming laws, Choctaw properties are managed and owned by the tribal nation. The profits go to improvement projects for the native nation.
The Durant casino and resort has a 218,884 sq. Foot casino floor. You can play one of the over 4,800 gaming machines, place a bet (with an ante of course) at any of the over 80 table games. Choctaw Durant also offers a horse racing sportsbook.
There are a variety of dining and entertainment options. The resort features multiple pools with cabanas that can be reserved.
Are you thinking of making it a family trip?
The resort offers bowling, shopping, a movie theater, and an arcade.
The Choctaw Casino and Resort is a great option for families that are looking for a a family getaway with adult gambling and entertainment options.
Just like WinStar, Choctaw Durant is only a 1.5-hour drive from DFW airport.
Artesian Hotel Casino – Sulphur, OK
The high-end experience at Artesian Hotel Casino is a fantastic option for an adult-only weekend getaway. Located in Sulphur, OK, the casino and hotel is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation as per Oklahoma gaming laws.
The Artesian is much smaller than the other two casinos resorts on my list. The boutique hotel and casino opened April 2013. The casino floor is 15,000 square feet of gaming featuring high roller rooms, baccarat, blackjack, and poker.
Artesian Hotel Casino is an excellent romantic weekend getaway option. You can book a spa day, like my husband did for our 25th wedding anniversary, at their award-winning spa, the SOLE’SERNITY.
Their dining options are reminiscent of country club offerings with a flushed-out wine list. The three dining establishment offer everything from a gourmet eggs benedict to a house-aged rib eye. My personal favorite drink offering is the Tennessee Fir Mule at the Fountain Club.
The hotel rooms are splendid with décor. The rooms range in size and amenities. They remind me of a less loud version of the W Chicago.
Much like the other two casino resorts on this list, this hotel and casino is a short drive from DFW airport, clocking in at about 2 hours. For me, a spa and gambling getaway is worth the slightly longer drive.
Conclusion
I hope you have better grasp of the casino offering from Oklahoma’s diverse gaming industry. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Oklahoma’s gambling landscape has to offer.
There are 60 casinos in Oklahoma. All of them are owned and managed by native tribes. The fact that the tribes redistribute the profits to improvements within their communities is a feel-good win for me as well.
I would love to hear your feedback and questions. Leave a comment below.
102 casinos are in the state of Oklahoma, making it a surprisingly big casino destination in the United States.
After all, you don’t often hear people talking about Oklahoma as a gambling epicenter.
It’s not Nevada.
But they legalized casino gambling in Oklahoma in 2004, so the casino scene has exploded over the last decade and a half.
And, the state of Oklahoma has more casinos than any other states besides Nevada.
In this post, I’m going to look at some of the interesting details about the number of casinos in Oklahoma.
What Are the Casinos Like in Oklahoma?
Winstar Casino Blackjack Antennas
Until recently, the only kind of casino gambling allowed in Oklahoma was gambling machine oriented and bingo oriented. In fact, even the gambling machines – both slots and video poker – were based on a bingo algorithm.
In fact, you could see on the face of all the machines in Oklahoma a bingo card which lit up with the electronic bingo results. These bingo results corresponded to the various slot machine reel combinations. It was easy to ignore, and the practical effect for the gambler was almost nil.
Now, of course, Oklahoma gambling has expanded statewide. The use of playing cards was the first restriction to loosen, and, for a while, you could play craps games and roulette games where the results were generated by using a deck of cards.
Even more recently, Oklahoma has legalized using dice and spinning wheels for their results.
And they offer more traditional slot machine and video poker games, now, too.
As for what the casinos are like inside and out, it varies widely. The Winstar World Casino in Thackerville is literally the largest casino in the United States, and it offers many – if not most – of the same amenities that are available in a larger casino resort in Las Vegas.
Many local casinos, though, are small, non-descript buildings made of brick and filled with gambling machines. My understanding is that these smaller casinos target locals and have better payouts, but they don’t publicize specifics about their payout percentages.
Class II versus Class III Casino Games in Oklahoma
Class II casino games are games where the results are generated via a centralized computer system running the equivalent of electronic bingo games all day. From a legal perspective, this is a separate kind of gambling than regular slot machines or even blackjack.
Class II gaming includes bingo, electronic bingo, and pull tab machines.
For years, these were the only kinds of casino games available in Oklahoma.
Class III gaming is what they offer in Las Vegas and many other traditional casino destinations. Traditional casino games like blackjack, craps, and roulette are all Class III games. Traditional gambling machines like slot machines and video poker – with their individual random number generators – are also in the category of Class II games.
You can tell the difference between the Class II games and the Class III games in Oklahoma casinos by looking for the electronic bingo card on the front of the machine. If it’s there and lights up with results every time you spin the reels, you’re playing a Class II game. If it’s nowhere to be found, you’re playing a Class III slot machine game.
Quirks of Oklahoma Casinos
One interesting quirk about the casino games in Oklahoma is the “ante.” In poker, an ante is a forced bet that drives the action and ensures that players don’t just fold until they have a premium hand.
But in an Oklahoma casino, when you play blackjack, craps, or roulette, you’re required to place an ante in addition to your bet.
It’s not really an ante, though, as you lose the ante regardless of whether you win or lose.
Usually, you’ll see a so-called ante of 50 cents per hand on a blackjack hand of less than $100.
I’m not a fan of these kinds of table games, and I suggest avoiding them unless you’re playing for higher stakes. The more money you’re risking, the lower the effect of the ante on the house edge.
50 cents, when compare to $50, only amounts to an additional 1% added to the house edge instead of an additional 10%.
That will make a big difference to your bottom line, although, unless you’re playing games with positive expectation, you’ll eventually lose all your money either way. It’s inevitable because of the math behind the games.
Winstar Casino Blackjack Antenna Tv
Which Oklahoma Casinos Are Closest to Texas?
It’s probably not a surprise that a lot of the gamblers in Oklahoma have actually traveled from another state to get a little action. And many of those gamblers hail from the Lone Star State.
But which casinos in Oklahoma are closest to Texas?
The Winstar Casino in Thackerville is probably the casino closest to Texas. It’s only 80 miles north of Dallas, and, if you’re driving north on I-35, it’s located at the first exit in Oklahoma.
The Choctaw Casino in Durant is also close to Texas. It’s only 95 miles northeast of Dallas. If you’re living on the eastern side of Dallas or in one of the suburbs there, it’s closer than the Winstar.
You would get to Choctaw Casino by driving north on 75 instead of taking I-35. It’s not as big as the Winstar, but it’s a major destination casino with all the amenities you’d associated with a larger casino resort.
Of course, those aren’t the only casinos in those destinations. Border Casino in Thackerville is a smaller, slot-machine-only casino also located in Thackerville. I have friends who claim the slots there are a lot looser, but it lacks any amenities beyond the gambling.
How Did Casinos Become Legal in Oklahoma?
Casinos in a lot of states are owned by Native American tribes. They’re recognized as independent nations, but not entirely independent. They operate within existing United States law with treaties called compacts.
In many states, these compacts include the tribes’ rights to operate casinos within their jurisdictions.
Oklahoma tribes lobbied for the situation to change for years before States Question 712 passed. Once that happened, it only took 4 years for 94 casinos to launch in the state. I remember when this happened. The Winstar Casino, at the time, was nothing more than a giant circus tent on the other side of the Red River.
What Is the Best Paying Casino in Oklahoma?
In many states, the casinos are required to post details of their financials – especially as those financials relate to the payouts for that casino. This is why you’ll see casino guides publishing information about overall payout percentages and individual casinos’ payout percentages.
Oklahoma, though, doesn’t require the casinos to reveal their financial information related to their payback percentages.
So, what is the best paying casino in Oklahoma?
Who knows?
Winstar Casino Blackjack Anterior
It’s impossible to ascertain, although you could theoretically spend some time at each of them recording your results and drawing conclusions from those results.
With over 100 casinos in the state, you wouldn’t realistically be able to spend much time in each state at their casinos recording results. You’d get some results, but the statistical validity of those results would be questionable at best.
Which Casinos in Oklahoma Offer Poker Games?
Not all of the casinos in Oklahoma offer poker games. In fact, most of them don’t. Here’s a list of those that do offer poker rooms:
- Apache Casino
- Cherokee
- Choctaw (Durant)
- Choctaw (Grant)
- Choctaw (Pocola)
- Downstream
- Firelake
- Grand Casino Resort
- Hard Rock
- River Spirit
- Riverwind
- Winstar
Still, that’s a dozen casinos to choose from if you want to get your poker on.
I’ve played live poker at the Choctaw in Durant and at the Winstar in Thackerville. Both offer huge, clean poker rooms with plenty of action for the most popular poker variants – especially real money Texas holdem. I even found occasional Omaha games to play.
Conclusion
How many casinos are in Oklahoma?
With 102 casinos, Oklahoma has more casinos than any other gambling state in the USA. Only Nevada has more casinos.
But the gambling scene in Oklahoma is a little different from the gambling scenes in other states, so be sure to give it consideration the next time you’re planning a casino trip.