Bad news for poker dealers

[jetset]

BAD NEWS FOR POKER DEALERS

Top aces to test no-dealer poker at top championship

Some shrewd marketing savvy lies behind an innovative element scheduled for introduction early next month during the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Pokertek, which has developed a new electronic dealerless poker table that uses computer screens for each player and speeds up play significantly, has teamed up with WSOP organisers to showcase the product in a Heads Up Challenge game featuring high profile players.

Antonio Esfandiari and Phil 'Unabomber' Laak will compete in a game of Texas Hold'em using the new table during the main event on the afternoon of July 5. Arrangements have also been made for the product to be showcased on the Gaming Life Expo running in conjunction with WSOP, giving visitors a chance to give the product a test drive, and the activity will be supported by a publicity campaign.

"People love to play heads-up poker," says PokerTek president James Crawford. "It's fast-paced, it's one-on-one and the competition is intense. Bringing the world's greatest card game into the amusement space is an exciting next step for our company."

PokerTek's plans include the installation of the electronic tables in bars and restaurants, and the company is negotiating a co-branding deal with the World Series of Poker. The director of the tournament, Jeffrey Pollack says that such a move would be a good strategic fit and comments: "The success of any sports property is directly related to its ability to introduce the brand to new audiences."

[pokeraddict]

My Pokertek stock has been doing great lately. Admittedly I hate the machine though. These machines are usually rev share so they are a great way for small casinos to offer poker without the cost. This also applies to places that only allow video gambling.

[The Ronin]

Not for nothing, but I would really hate to see these machines in a poker room. There is a certain ambiance to live play, the sound of the chips, the dealer shuffling the cards, table chatter and so on. Plus I enjoy tipping the dealers, engaging them in conversation, getting angry with them when they don't give me the cards I need to make that awesome suckout

If it is restricted to heads up play, I guess that would be ok, but if they take it to the ring games and tournaments, I think that would be a terrible idea. Not everything modern is a good thing. I remember when they started switching slot machine payouts to paper tickets. It started slowly, as a novelty, now a large group of people no longer have jobs, because the casinos don't need hopper loaders, payout ladies and change makers etc. I read one estimate that each casino in Las Vegas, and Atlantic City were able to eliminate 280 jobs. Each! Profits went up, but at the expense of a whole bunch of "little people jobs".

I hope this scenario doesn't happen to poker dealers. They are some of the hardest working people in a casino, IMO.

[dealer wins]

I would never play on one of those tables. If I wanted to play electronic poker I would play online.

Poker without the dealer would just be awful.

And I still miss coins pouring out of a slot in Vegas when it hits!! I hardly play slots now when I do get to Vegas but I do miss the sound of winning!!!

[pokeraddict]

Most downtown LV casinos still use coins. I live near Deadwood and most places use coins here still too.

[The Ronin]

Here on the East Coast, you can't find any slot machine that offers coins for payouts. I used to get a kick out of seeing the old ladies carrying buckets of pennies to the cashier cage .

Deadwood, now that was one of the BEST HBO shows ever! I really wish they would bring that show back

[pokeraddict]

Deadwood, now that was one of the BEST HBO shows ever! I really wish they would bring that show back

I did not even know it was off the air. That show has done wonders for tourism and bringing in donkeys in the poker games in Deadwood. I live 25 minutes away and have never seen an episode of it. The best live games I've ever seen are during the Sturgis Bike Rally. Deadwood is worth checking out if you find your way to the Mt. Rushmore/Rapid City area but if you are looking for what the show depicts I think you will be disappointed. It's just a small midwest gambling/tourist town now.

[jetset]

Totally off topic - a story about Deadwood and surrounding region.

Whilst visiting the Canadian Rockies in January this year (yes - we wanted to see what winter in the Rockies was like, LOL!) we decided to take a look at those giant Mount Rushmore presidential heads and flew down via Denver and Rapid City.

Before doing so I looked for accommodation on the Internet and every place I went to had "no available accommodation" responses. I remember saying to my wife "(expletive expletive) there must be something big going on down there - the place is fully booked!"

When we finally rolled in to Keystone - the nearest town to Mount Rushmore - it was early evening and the place was like a ghost town - everything deserted, locked up and quite eerie.

Duh! Coming from a place where winter is mild compared to Northern America I didn't realise that some tourist spots close down for winter, and this was the reason we had a problem getting a hotel!

It was worth the trip though - over the next few days we explored a really interesting area with scenery ranging from prairie to mountains and forest and the moonscapes of the badlands.

[pokeraddict]

Yes Keystone is closed from about Labor Day (first Monday in September until Memorial Day (last Monday in May). It is literally a ghost town in off season but I think it is the best time to go see the sights since even places like Mt. Rushmore are virtually deserted. For being so far north the weather isn't that bad in the hills. There are plenty of cheap rooms in Rapid City during the off season.

The Badlands are my favorite thing about up here. You certainly have to see it to appreciate it. Open only in the summer there is a bar in a tiny ghost town called Scenic just outside of The Badlands that is a must see. It is called the Longhorn Saloon. The bar stools are saddles and there are endless cattle skulls among the decor. It does not seem to have a floor. If it does it is covered in saw dust as well as dirt. It is about as authentic of a wild west ghost town that there is. If you are in to ghost towns there are tons of them in the hills here. There was a huge gold rush that went bust and many of these towns still exist although they are mostly if not completely deserted. It is quite a culture shock from Atlanta.