environment of live and electronic environment the dealers will feel comfortable with the co-existence when they are part of the e-table action. Make them part of this experience. It’s a very basic concept of empowering the employees and making them part of the process. “Inclusion” is a basic premise for employee understanding and acceptance. In the e- table environment the dealer/host will have more customer face time without the intensity of a live game, the tips will continue and they will be less likely to view the e-tables as a threat to their job if it becomes part of their job platform. Something unionized jurisdictions may have to bargain about.
Looking at the Pennsylvania model Rich Orlando President of TDN Money Systems of Aston, has been the key distributor in Pennsylvania and the largest supplier of table games since the state authorized gaming. I asked him if he thought the operators in Pennsylvania were going cold turkey from e-tables to live. “It’s a wait and see.” He said. “They will be reducing the “e” table
remain. That leaves us with the situation where we have to determine if this is a niche worth pursuing here in AC.” Said DiGuiseppe.
In the competitive Tri State Environment of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, Tropicana’s DiGuisepee agrees that having more electronic Table Games in AC will not necessarily increase player traffic, but he believes that they may have a future.
“Some customers just feel more at ease playing with the electronic table product rather than being in the presents of a live dealer for such games as three card poker, roulette, and Texas Hold’em.”
count in most properties in Pennsylvania and waiting to see how much of a niche market has remained.” “With e-table products units available on a month to month lease it is a lower risk to casinos to keep some and wait and see what happens,” he said.
In the final analysis the determination of how many e- tables remain in Pennsylvania will be decided by the consumer. Even those jurisdictions like Atlantic City that have had minimal e-table experience will be monitoring this.
Vice President of Operations at Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City Mario DiGuiseppe contends that jurisdictions like Pennsylvania have created a niche market in electronic tables.
“They’re not breaking any records, but they have certainly created a segment of the population that enjoys these games. Mostly from my observations, these are people who are new to table games and feel less intimidation playing on an electronic version.” He said. “If live Table Games were not approved in PA, I sincerely believe that you would see them in AC because of this market segment. Since Table Games are approved now in PA; it will be interesting to see what the operators do with the electronic games. From what I’ve been told, most of them are being removed. Only a few will
18
Steve Keener is Assistant Vice President of Casino operations at Dover Downs, a state-of-the-art gaming facility in Dover Delaware. The Downs is one of three casinos in Delaware that are now permitted to offer live tables this year. Keener says the electronic tables have been very successful at his property here at Dover Downs. “They certainly introduced our property to customers who have never been here before. They found these tables easy to play which in turn grew our market share.” Said Keener. “Some customers just feel more at ease
playing with the electronic table product rather than being in the presents of a live dealer for such games as three card poker, roulette, and Texas Hold’em.”
Do the E-Tables remove the “casino-experience?”
DigiDeal’s Senior VP of Product Development Dave Krise and founding partner of DigiDeal Corporation sees a continued great future with e-table play. He agrees that the hosted e-tables and live can co-exists in a casino environment that is promoted correctly. Mr. Krise has more than 35 years of design and marketing experience as well as an extensive background in product development.
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel in North Carolina has been operating 40 DigiDeal Tables. On their web site it reads: “With live dealers and real chips, our modern style table games offer a unique format of traditional table games but with the latest interactive video technology.” As an operator I have found this to be true of e-tables. Referring to the pits in the Midwest, we marketed live with the technology for a very successful mix as well.
Mr. Krise also mentioned a boom of e-tables through- out Mexico and most recently a request to the state of New Jersey to place them at some properties in Atlantic City.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52