How does the casino work?
3 min read
Everything you need to survive the streets, explained short and clear.
The Dossier. Part two of the handbook. One card per feature, written as the file the police keep on you, or the file the family keeps on the city. This is where the exact rules and formulas live. Every number comes straight from the game.
How does the casino work?
The casino is open from the start. Every city has 2 tables per game. An empty table costs a $50,000 license plus a $5,000 starting bankroll. You can only buy a table in the city you're in. In another city there's no buy button.
The owner sets the minimum and maximum bet. The minimum is at least $50. The maximum is at most $500,000. A bet above that maximum isn't silently ignored. The screen shows a notice and the bet doesn't go through. In the lobby, Manage on your own table opens those limits and the bankroll. On the table list for blackjack and for roulette, that same button does it for that table.
You may bet up to the table max even when the bankroll is low. If the win is larger than the bankroll, you receive the whole bankroll and become the owner. The bankroll is then $0. The payout stops at the bankroll and never goes above $18,000,000. The previous owner's history is wiped, the limits go back to default and the table opens. You and the previous owner both get a signal and a message. After a takeover the bankroll starts empty; deposit cash to be able to pay out. That's by design, not a bug. The payout rule stays the same. You'll see: You broke the bank! The table is yours now. The playing field disappears right away and Manage opens for that table, with the limits and the bankroll. You don't play at your own table.
With 3 tables you can't buy or take over any more tables. You then can't bet more than the bankroll can fully pay out. A single number then has its own, lower maximum. A refused takeover stays with the previous owner and you see that on the table right away. The table warns you about it before you spin. That warning stays hidden on an empty bet.
If you're one below 3 tables and a win would take over that table, the warning sits next to Spin and next to Deal. An empty bet, or a win that fits in the bankroll, doesn't show that warning. At two or three tables that maximum is called the bet limit. During an open hand, the bankroll and the max payout don't count the bet a second time.
The roulette maximum is the total of all chips in that spin. A table that has been closed for 4 hours becomes free again. Taking cash out of the bankroll leaves at least $5,000 and works once every 10 minutes. You don't play at your own table. Standing lets the dealer play out. Win, push or loss, with the amount, stays on screen until New hand. Dice is a street table with no bankroll and no takeover.
Outside bets pay even money (1:1). A natural blackjack pays 3:2. A single number pays 36 times. With three tables, the bet cap uses the bankroll divided by 8 or 3 — that divisor is not the payout players receive.