A UNLV student has created a variation on blackjack that's now being played on the Strip.
Matt Stream invented Easy Jack, a simplified version of the popular table game.
"Instead of starting with two cards, you start with one card," Stream said. "Instead of having a goal of making 21, the goal is to get to 11."
The rules aren't much more complicated than that.
Caesars Entertainment liked Easy Jack enough to feature it in its Harrah's property.
"A game like this you can really sit down and jump into and be an expert at it pretty fast," said Jay Bean, the vice president of corporate table games with Caesars.
The game is on a trial run at Harrah's through the end of the year.
Bean says guests are really enjoying it.
Once Stream had the initial idea, he further developed the rules at UNLV's Center for Gaming Innovation, a sort of incubator for inventors like him.
The center has a casino mock-up that serves as a classroom and a laboratory.
"The object is to create new games, new products, new patents and bring revenue and jobs to our state," said Mark Yoseloff, the center's executive director.
Stream is now waiting on the state's Gaming Control Board to approve Easy Jack.
Once that happens, he'll have the opportunity to lease it out to any casinos that want it.
