Reno Casino Tries Electronic Poker Tables

Electronic poker tables which speed up play and avoid dealer errors were installed by a casino in Reno eager to try a new product with uneven response in earlier testing.

The Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada, has decided to install PokerPro electronic poker tables on its premises. The tables, a product of PokerTek Incorporated, feature automated dealers and virtual cards.

The concept of PokerPro is to speed up the number of hands played while reducing labor costs. Theoretically, casinos would make significantly more money by cutting the cost of paying a dealer while generating more hands per minute, upping the total rake collected in a given time period.

In practice, the success of electronic poker tables has been mixed, at best. Trump casinos in Atlantic City experimented with them, only to find players uncomfortable with the mechanized format as they gravitated to tables with live dealers.

"Our mission is to utilize this system to offer games and promotions that are new to the Reno poker market and exciting for the players," said Silver Legacy GM Gary Carano about the new poker tables.

"We look forward to introducing the poker players of Reno to the benefits of automated poker with PokerPro," stated PokerTek president James Crawford.