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21 at La Hacienda.

Several blocks up Avenida Larco from

the Marriott and the oceanfront .. is

La Hacienda, which offers blackjack

with basically the same rules as

Majestic's.

Don't plan to breeze into the place --

you will need to show a passport or

other ID the security guard finds

acceptable.  Chips or cash is

available at the open cashier, with

ID and plastic.

This is a break-in house for dealers.

However, the supervisors are well

trained and likely to catch all

dealer errors such as paying a

losing player's hand.

Lima dealers typically inject no

personality into the proceedings --

Las Vegas is much more into that --

and this is especially true when

a rookie dealer at La Hacienda is

struggling to count her hand and

figure out which players should

get paid.

To assist the dealers in getting it

right, the Hacienda procedure is

to take losing bets, push ties --

clearing the table of cards from

these hands -- and then pay

winning player hands.

The casino's 21 tables typically offer

10-sol minimums whereas Majestic

has 10 and 20 sol tables.

Dealers shuffle the cards manually

and deal them from a plastic shoe.

Expect penetration up to about

a deck-and-a-half to two decks

from the end.

cccmedia in Lima

Atlantic City, Peru.

Atlantic City Casino is at the busy intersection of

Larco and Benevides in Miraflores, about three

blocks further up Larco from La Hacienda.

The minimums for blackjack are 50 percent higher

at 15 soles (a bit under $4 US) and the maximums

are higher than most places -- 300 soles versus 200.

The table games group that includes blackjack has

been moved up to the mezzanine since I previously

visited A.C. about five years ago.

Games are typically hand-shuffled and dealt out of

a plastic shoe.  As is customary in Peru, surrender

is offered unless the dealer hand shows an ace.

Otherwise, rules seem to be the same everywhere,

including dealer stands on soft 17.

This is about the gaudiest casino I have seen in

the Peruvian capital.  It has that Las Vegas sheen.

Leave your jacket and 'mercancias´at the cloakroom

off the main casino floor where

gaming machines dominate .. and walk up

one flight or take the elevator one flight up

to reach the 21 tables.

cccmedia in Lima

Fiesta Casino, Lima.

Unlike the other casinos reviewed on this thread,

the Fiesta has its dealers distribute the cards

from a continuous-shuffling machine.

The 21 games are one flight up from the

main 'slots' level.  Expect a 10-200 soles range

for your bets.

Like La Hacienda and unlike Atlantic City Casino,

there is a hotel attached to Fiesta.  Fiesta is just

a short block up Benevides from Atlantic City.

I was directed to the 'caja' or cashier on the

blackjack level to buy gaming chips.  Unlike at

most other casinos in Lima and worldwide,

you may not purchase Fiesta chips at the

21 tables.

Many pharmacies, restaurants, tailor shops

and a major supermarket line the streets where

Atlantic City and Fiesta are located.  Most of the

half dozen hotels and AirBnB's where I have

stayed in Miraflores over recent years 

are located right around these casinos.

cccmedia

Hello again cccmedia. Enjoyed your posts a few months ago about blackjack in Bucaramanga. I live in Ecuador. I took a trip to Bogota a month and a half ago. Spent a few days there at the millionaires casino. No hand held shuffles. Only csm. Fortunately because I know basic strategy well and the rules were good I won a bit. I just now read your posts about the Casinos in Miraflores Lima. The Marriott, Hacienda, and Atlantic City. They sound like great places. I’m undecided where to play next. You sure make your rounds around So. America. Are you still in Lima? If so for how long?

Hi cccmedia . I just wrote a long reply to your post. Can you let me know if you received it. There was a problem with the password. If you didn’t receive it I’ll write it again in the morning.

Ok sorry, I now see above that you did receive it.

I will be flying LIM-UIO back to Ecuador on the 21st.

I'm doing almost all my play at the no-CSM Marriott

hotel's casino, which is an easy three-minute bus ride

from my hotel on 28 de Julio.

I've been breaking even or winning every time at

the Marriott whereas I had losing sessions the

two times I played at La Hacienda.   No CSM at

La Hacienda, but they strip the s--- out of the

cards in their routine shuffle which negates my

method(s).

The Marriott casino allows resplit of aces and, like

the others, surrender except against aces.  The

shuffle strip is mild compared to La Hacienda.

The dealers there are usually super-accurate, but

I had a dealer who made three errors 'en mi contra'

inside of 20 minutes tonight.  I watched him like a

hawk and (so far as I know) I caught all the 'errores'.

The only casino I know of in this area of Miraflores

where CMS shuffling is the norm .. is La Fiesta.

cccmedia in Miraflores, Lima

Beverages on tap.

Unlike most casinos in South America that

I've visited, servers do not regularly come to the

gaming tables at the Marriott's casino,

a.k.a. the Majestic, offering beverage service.

Instead, players may approach the bar, about

20 meters away, and request a free beverage.

I usually visit the bar during the blackjack shuffle

and say a few words in Spanish.

¨Jugando veintiuna.  Puedan otorgarme una

botellita de agua...¨ does the trick.

I use otorgar  (to award) because it's a

casino environment and because it's a 'verbo'

that is familiar to only one in a thousand Gringos.

cccmedia in Lima

Hi cccmedia, what’s your reason for visiting Quito if you don’t mind me asking. I assume you know there are no casinos in Ecuador. It’s been that way for 9 years, however the existing president Lasso said he will bring them back. I live in Manta which is on the coast. Give me a call when you get to Ecuador. My number is 0998728827. I’m assuming you use What’s app. If not spend $3.00 and buy a Ecuadorian SIM card. However, you know what’s app is free throughout the world as long as the person you’re talking to has the app downloaded into their phone. Parece que hablas Español con fluidez. Adiós por ahora.

I won't be visiting Quito.  I live there.  My Quito condo

is my principal hogar.

---

If Sr. Lasso really wanted to revive the casinos of

Ecuador, why didn't he include a casino question

among his referendum questions for 2023....

cccmedia

its A small world isn’t it. I guess you have a good point. Did you not hear about him wanting to bring the casinos back prior to the last elections or was that something I heard among the grapevine. I have been living here in Ecuador for 13 years how about you?

This is my tenth year since moving to

Ecuador and taking possession of my condo,

although I was back in the U.S. during

the first year of the worldwide Situation.

El Presidente was definitely interested in

establishing special trade zones that would

allow for new casino resorts. 

However, he stopped promoting such

after realizing how hard-core his opposition

had become in Congress.

cccmedia in Lima

November 2023 update... Sr. Lasso never got

traction for his advocacy for casinos.

His anticipated four-year tenure was cut short

by an impeachment effort in the National Assembly

that forced him to resign after dissolving the

assembly.  A new president,  Daniel Noboa, will

take office in a few weeks but will only serve a term

of  17 months .. at which time he will remain for

a second term or give up the reins to yet another

presidente or presidenta.

There is apparently no way to predict reliably

when Ecuador might re-authorize casinos, meaning

more action in Colombia, Peru and perhaps other

Latin American countries.

Thanks for the information. It will eventually come back when enough money greases the hands of the right people. Just my opinion.

Hey cc  I wanted to know if there are any good hand held shuffles of blackjack in Ipiales. If so what Are the names of the casinos. Avianca flies gye to uio for $65. Then I have to take a 4 hour bus to Ipiales. Your opinion please?

When I was there last in October 2022 they

had not re-opened the table games.  A host

told me the Gran Plaza mall casino would reopen

its blackjack sometime in 2022.

cccmedia

@cccmedia

19 weeks ago on Facebook, Miltoner Ros said:

Para cuando las mesas de black jack ???

He received no response. Since I see no posts promoting blackjack since then, it is doubtful there are tables available currently. They do say that you are welcome to come and enjoy the maquinas and ruletas, not to mention the pasabocas of natilla y buñuelos.

Doesn’t seem like anyone knows. Until I hear something about blackjack being played I guess I’ll have to wait it out. Thanks anyway.

Due to a ¨typo,¨ I implied I was in Ipiales

in October 2022 when it was actually

2021.

The 'ruleta' referenced above is Spanish

for roulette.  However, it may refer to

an electronic version of the game in

this context.

cccmedia

Enjoying this info. Thanks CCC.

Not an expat. Just a Gringo with a Peruvian wife so I visit Lima occasionally.

How is the heat with regards to counters? Are they watching for such stuff?

What is the Gringo to Local ratio at these places?

Sounds like the games are relatively decent albeit with a low max.

Just a Gringo with a Peruvian wife so I visit Lima occasionally. How is the heat with regards to counters? Are they watching for such stuff?What is the Gringo to Local ratio at these places?Sounds like the games are relatively decent albeit with a low max       -@Mrtastee

.

.

.

I haven't noticed any heat, and such may not be necessary with

more and more casinos converting to CSM continuous shufflers ..

as well as the low max you mentioned.  It has been a couple of years since I played at the Majestic so I don't know if they're still doing hand shuffles 100 percent.

--

Most of the players are South American natives as far as I can tell,

although they get a share of North Americans at the Majestic since

it's on the ground-level floor of a high-class Marriott Hotel

steps away from the seaside mall shops.

cccmedia

@cccmedia Yeah, I've been to that Marriott and also Locimar mall or whatever it is called.

I am in Lima now... if anyone is still monitoring this thread... what generally are table maxes for Blackjack say for the JW Marriott and Atlantic City? Thank you, thank you!

Playing five hands at a time.

Since early in June I have been playing at La Hacienda

in Lima.

Mostly playing at non-peak hours, I often find a dead table

and spread my bets to five hands.  There are seven spots

at the several 21 tables .. and theoretically one could

play all seven at once until another player appears for

action, though most players limit their wagers to

one or two bets at a time.

Mlanual hand shuffles are the rule at Hacienda.  Dealer

takes a hole card before players act, but does not check

for a dealer natural until players are done.  You lose only

the original bet if you double down only to have the

dealer wind up with a natural 21.

A losing streak had me wondering if the game was on

the level, but after the last two times I played, that's no longer

a concern as I won about 200 more betting units than

I lost in the last two playing sessions.

I left one of these sessions amidst a long series of

dealer-breaks hands, telling the supervisor

Gané suficiente.  No quisiera perjudicar demasiado

a la casa. 

cccmedia in Miraflores, Lima

Translation of last sentence above in español...

I won enough. I wouldn't want to hurt the house

too badly.

July 2024 update for the Marriott's casino...

I played there Saturday  night, discovering that the

blackjack minimums were raised to 20 soles

per hand about six months ago.  That is the

timeline the pit boss hawking our one active

table told me.  I suspect the higher minimum has

reduced play at the casino .. as only two

other players were at my table and the

other 21 table had no action.  Max bet was

500 soles.

The dealer was silky smooth in her actions

compared to the Hacienda dealers, some of

whom are obviously break-ins.

Just like Hacienda, it was easy to get 800

soles worth of chips (or cash at Hacienda)

by showing a valid passport and my

USA debit card.

The pit boss was right over the dealer's shoulder

almost the whole time.  So I suspect there is

heat if anyone is varying their bets with the count.

I was flat-betting, so there was no problem.

Both Hacienda and the Marriott casino require

photographing the key pages of your passport

before entering the casino if you are not Peruvian.

A foreigner was turned away as I entered for having

a cedula ID but not a passport at the entrance.

The rules are similar to what I found on previous

trips, with DA2, re-splits of any pair except maybe

aces and surrender against any dealer upcard

except aces.

The Marriott was perfectly climate controlled, in

contrast to La Hacienda in winter, where I had to

keep my jacket on throughout any session.

cccmedia in Miraflores, Lima

@cccmedia

hi cccmedia, I’m back in Lima after a trip about 18 months ago where I experienced some of the great conditions you mentioned. In an earlier comment you mentioned that stripping kills some of your other strategies, and it does for me as well. Have you found any shops in Peru or other South American countries that don’t strip (and don’t step ladder)?

Dear Curly,

I do not recall encountering non-strip blackjack

of the type you refer in my South American travels.

Ditto for no-step-ladder games as this

term was not known to me.

cccmedia

@cccmedia

Oh well, well thank you for getting back to me. If I find something while I’m here like I’ve described I’ll send you a DM

Good morning all,

Does anyone have up to date info on Lima casinos? Specifically Casino Majestic (inside JW Marriott), La Hacienda, Atlantic City Casino?

Does dealer hit or stand on soft 17?

How many decks do they use?

What is the deck penetration? Aka how many decks are cut off per shoe

Are they all shoe games or do they have CSMs (continuous shuffling machines) as well?

What are min & max bets?

Do they offer surrender? If so which kind?

Double after split allowed?

Can you resplit aces? If so how many times?

Can you double on any first 2 cards?

When does the dealer check for blackjack? If dealer checks for BJ after the hand, do I lose by original bet only or do I also lose splits and doubles?

Getting this information asap would be greatly appreciated. I am willing to trade information regarding casinos in north america, europe, the caribbean, and Medellin, Colombia