Las Vegas Vegas let us know this week that the poker room at the Excalibur will be folding its hand but buying in to a new game. The room will close on August 18th and send all of its dealers searching for work elsewhere, and it will reopen on August 21st with nothing but automated tables and a minimal floor staff.
I don\’t know about you, but the thought of going into an all-automated poker room – no chips, no cards, no dealers – is not appealing. Sure, it will be cheaper for the casino, but the lack of character, not to mention human contact and any sort of tradition, makes it all too much like a room filled with slot machines – fun for a few minutes, then a little too robotic and monotonous.
Sad to say that this appears to be the start of a trend, but thankfully, some poker rooms like Bellagio and even Sahara, will likely keep their dealers and their appeal to true poker players.