Gambling in Los Angeles is illegal on 'games of chance' but not on games of skill.
After some research, I think I figured out why the gambling here is so funky. There are also no slot machines, roulette or craps. At first I though this person was some huge gambler but rather they are part of the operations here. Also, every table game has a person who sits at either first or third base with a huge pile of gaming chips who collects or pays the players after every hand. So yes, every hand you play in black jack, baccarat, 3 card poker etc costs $1. First off, every bet you place requires at least $1 as a 'fee' to gamble here.
This review is about the casino experience only.