Robo-poker at the Excal

After surviving in Atlantic City, “electronic poker” is finally in Vegas. From the LVRJ:

A Las Vegas poker dealer, who for obvious reasons did not want to give his name, had conflicting reactions while trying out the new electronic poker tables at the Excalibur.

As a dealer, he hated the 10-player tables which are fully automated and do not require cards, chips or a dealer. In other words, one less casino job.

As a poker player participating in a low-limit cash game, though, he found the tables easy to maneuver and faster than live games.

“I played on these tables before on a cruise ship,” the dealer commented. “They are very advantageous for the player. There are never any misdeals. I think we’ll see a lot more of these games.”

Excalibur became the first Strip resort to fully automate its poker room last month, installing 12 electronic tables provided by North Carolina-based PokerTek for a six-month exclusive run. About 40 dealer positions were eliminated but the room still employs a staff of 20 cashiers and poker hosts who have been trained on the system.
ReviewJournal.com - Business - DEAL BUT NO DEALER

I haven’t tried the games yet, but it’s worth saying that for the past 30 years casinos have become progressively less labor-intensive. In general, customer service is much more mechanized today than it once was. So this isn’t much of a surprise. It’ll be interesting to see how the Vegas market reacts to it.