Poker at Excalibur goes digital
12th August, 2008
It seems the idea of getting rid of poker dealers, and doing away with the chips and cards as well, has taken the poker rooms in Las Vegas by storm because many are already making the move to a digital framework.
Excalibur has announced it will be converting its poker room to an all-automated-table experience beginning on the 18th August. The room will be closed until the 21 or 22 August depending on how long the new conversion will last.
“I’m excited to see the turnout,” said Neil Bard, Excalibur’s floor manager. “We are going to have several famous poker pros come to help launch the tables."
The tables will have digital readouts of the cards, chip amounts and pot size, and most of all it will run without any dealer. The new table PokerPro, created by PokerTek, will increase the number of Texas Hold’em hands played by 50% and Omaha hands by 100%. Without labour costs and increased play, it’s no wonder casinos are making the switch, but many players are outraged and will refuse to play on the tables.
The first PokerPro table was installed at the Horshoe Casino Chicagoland in Indiana, where the new innovation in poker made its mark.
“We are delighted to begin our field trial in the state of Indiana and increase our presence in the mid-west,” said Chris Halligan, CEO of PokerTek. “We’ve proven that players in this region accept and appreciate the benefits of automated poker. We are pleased that our partnership with Harrah’s has allowed us to be part of such an amazing property.”
The table is a real asset for smaller casinos with a smaller staff that have trouble accommodating the overflow of poker players coming to find a game. This will give them an alternative and can be run without an dealer and limited supervision.
“Our primary goals for this expansion was to bring in the latest gaming technology to meet the demands of our players,” said Rick Mazer, president and general manager of the Indiana Region of Horseshoe Casino. “PokerPro fits our needs perfectly, while allowing us total flexibility to adjust game offerings and tournament schedules.”
By Michael
