las vegas, you’re doing it wrong
Posted by Eric Bee | December 23, 2008
For a one-week honeymoon in Las Vegas, my beautiful new bride had one, solid rule: no work. No emails to L.A, admonishing their lack of gamerscore. No phone calls to Benny pretending to be a FSU fan with a grudge. Nothing of the sort. However, while taking in the sights and sounds of the Strip, I couldn’t help noticing how certain parts of Vegas have ignored the advancing march of technology. To its benefit, Vegas keeps itself somewhat sheltered from the future to protect its certain charm and customer service industry, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to play it cool, boy. After a few days, Wife and I found a part of this desert oasis that boasted innovation and a taste of tomorrow. But, from what we saw, the future of Vegas could be headed in a direction that would make Sinatra smash a cocktail glass over the city’s collective head. Papa’s new pair of ugly shoes are after the jump.
Say hello to the PokerTek electronic poker table. As you greet it, say goodbye to dealers, chips, cards, and fun as well. These are now the only way to play poker at Excalibur, once a popular poker room for its freewheelin’ atmosphere where any combination of bad luck would lead to bonus payouts, thus keeping the room thick with fun and, more importantly, people. When my wife and I walked into the Excalibur poker room, slightly buzzed and looking to shuffle chips and get to know our dealers, we were greeted by open, empty tables and an eerie quiet, which in a casino is akin to screaming and blood at a hospital. Bad scene, man. Bad scene.
Pokertek believes these tables are the way of the future, where players would play more hands of poker per hour and also not have to tip dealers, thus keeping more money in play and more cash going to the casino’s coffers. Since casinos like making and keeping money, it’s not shocking that these things have shown up in a major poker room. The problem, though, is that you need folks playing at these tables to turn a profit and if the lack of crowd at Excalibur was any indication, Pokertek’s electronic hold ‘em tables may be the spectre of death in poker rooms of the future.
See, when I go to Vegas, I like playing cards. If I wanted to sit in front of a computer screen and play poker, I’d do it from the comfort of my home, on the internet. When I play cards, I like having actual cards, chips, and a dealer who keeps the game lively from a social matter as well. With these tables, all that is gone, replaced by people blankly staring south, their faces aglow in a monitor haze, tapping bets robotic into a lifeless screen, saying nothing. Here, the rake takes your money and your excitement as well.
As for new players, those who might want to try their luck and gumption against other patrons, I’d imagine they’d be a bit confused as to why they don’t see what ESPN and Travel Channel made famous for all these years. There’s no clatter of chip shuffling, no one saying “raise,” or “all-in,” and no dealer there to welcome them to the table, make them feel like a player, and guide them through some confusion that’s bound to occur. The charm is gone, the intrigue transforms into techno-fear, and they saunter off, looking for a blackjack table or craps pit, listening for the fun of Vegas in the cheers of winners.
Vegas, do you really need to evolve with the times? Do you need to ignore the cigarette cool of the Rat Pack to make your casinos feel more like home? If that’s the case, you might find more people eschewing your faux virtual gaming for actual virtual gaming from the comforts of their home. Embrace the humanity of your experience, Vegas, and they will come, bet, spend, smile, and walk away with the unique feeling that only your lovely city can offer.
However, I would like to buy show tickets and dinner reservations from my smartphone. Just a suggestion.
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