From talking to dealers at Caesars, the Caesars poker room is 100% staying open. Post series, the "rumor" is that Bally's is rebranding to Horseshoe, and the poker room will stay open, with Flamingo closing. So it will be Caesars and the new Horseshoe poker rooms for CET.

El Dorado management is literally destroying value with this decision. I know the poker room at the Flamingo wasn't super valuable, but it was worth something. El Dorado is running the rooms like they are a sawdust joint.

It is a shame. At one point, center strip (Flamingo and LVBvd) had to be one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the country. Mismanagement by Harrah's/Ceasars/Apollo Management/El Dorado has destroyed all of that and turned all of that into meh casinos. With their prime positions at the center of the strip,, Cromwell, Flamingo, Bally's, Paris, PH, and Ceasars could have been turned into must visit places that churned out money. Instead they were run into the ground like that 25 year lease place behind the Barbary Coast. It is a shame.

For those of you who haven't been out in a while... El Dorado has put an electronic craps table in at Harrah's, ballys, Flamingo, PH and not sure of Caesars and Paris as I don't pass thru there gaming sections often. Management friends said this is the plan going forward to help lower wage/benefit costs. (electronic craps drops from 4 employees to 1)

In this economic market and the fact that Biden and Walsh are pushing the PRO Act making it easier for workers to unionize - can you really blame companies for trying to downsize their labor force???

Imagine dropping, round numbers, 40 poker room staff, 40 craps dealers. just for starters... across multiple properties.

Sounds like they just got into casino management last week. They might get some low limit players on those tables, but real gamblers will look for real tables. The dice setters (and ones that think they are) will happily walk next door or across the street to an MGM joint.

It's really amazing - a gaming license in Vegas is basically a license to print money. The last CET owners managed to eff it up and it looks like El Dorado is trying hard to eff it up too.

With almost 55k employees, I am not certain even a couple/few hundred will move the needle

i'm not so sure about this, as the slick plexiglass surface lends to a different style of bounce control. need to log more throws to know for sure, tbh.

We have a 'Single Dealer' craps table here in MI now. Color change the longer you throw. I like the individual bettor screens. I don't play much anymore but watched a bit and decided to jump in for one shooter .. who went 39 rolls with 13 of them being an 8. Nice little bonus for my visit.

I didn't throw but the dice definitely tumble differently .. and they only had two dice, not changing per shooter.

Labor is a huge expense .. no poker so you can put in more slots. Our casino is giving away a car to one 'lucky' employee who is 'on staff' Oct 1st. GL

Hate to say it but if this is the case it’s likely going to make the action worse

It's more about attracting the new generation to gaming--a generation accustomed to doing everything on a computer/phone/tablet/game screen. Stadium gaming, as some call it, takes up more real estate per player than many of the table games it replaces, at least now (and real estate is expensive). Some of that is no doubt due to COVID spacing. But you can get a similar experience by gaming online without getting dressed up and leaving home (and hotel, travel and dining expenses, etc.). I don't know how many newer players it will attract above and beyond what a casino would attract anyway. And most of the whales who are the lion's share of a casino's gaming revenue won't trust it and prefer to gamble in private, semi-private or exclusive settings. So table games are here to stay for the foreseeable future. A number of years ago some casinos experimented with dealer-less poker. Players sat around a group of terminals playing poker on the casino floor. It didn't catch on but online poker did. The lure of online poker had to do with convenience, not computerization, flashing lights or sound effects.

There's also the effect of throwing the dice in craps, handling the cards in baccarat and poker, playing with and handling chips, last second wagering in roulette and craps. All of those have an addictive effect on players (although, pushing buttons can too). This is part of the enjoyment at table games absent from stadium gaming.

The savings in employees is real and part of the motivation, but it's not at a 4:1 ratio for dealers. Blackjack and roulette and the other games offered use fewer dealers. There's additional savings in pit bosses, refills, etc., too. But they need technicians to maintain the equipment, and when one setup goes south, it takes a lot of seats with it (as compared to a slot machine, which takes only one). It's probably closer to 2:1 overall, maybe 2.5. But how many stadium gaming set-ups is a casino going to install? Not that many, imo. Reducing the number of employees is a huge plus, but it has nothing to do with Joe Biden or Marty Walsh. Companies do that every chance they get (always have, always will) and most casino workers in Vegas and other big markets are already unionized. But don't let facts get in the way of injecting a political agenda into a debate.

Have you ever played in that? I played one several years ago and it was nothing like a regular WSOP event. It was more like a turbo event with a relatively quick rising blind structure. And we had to sit through a eulogy for the players who passed since the previous event, which seemed to go on and on and on. Unless you're meeting up with buddies or have a history in that event, it's not worth the trip. imo.

I think you are correct. We have talked to a bunch of other local "semi-regs" - for lack of a better word. Most plan to be on the list at noon each day at the poker rooms and just play super tight and wait for the tourists to rotate in and out of their tables...

We have booked flights to Tx and Fl for 14 days of poker where the games will be better during WSOP...

For those of you staying or coming out best of luck and have a good time!!! Bink a tourney for us!!!!!!!

That's strange, that has not been my experience. I've played in three, I think. Seems as if they were regular structures. Looking at this year, 20K starting, 60 minute levels.

Seemed like a less stressful vibe than open events, just a bunch of old people playing poker and having a good time. So, for me, a good trip; I'm a recfish. For those eligible and actually good players, I suspect there's a lot of players like me in the field, and there's good value out there.

MGM National Harbor has a "stadium" setup and I ignored it for a long time. Now keep in mind, you cant get on a regular table there for under $25 and on weekends thats $50 - so the stadium setup at $10 or $15 is attractive.

And even though I'm in my mid 40s and despise my cell phone - I had a really good time - so I wouldnt say its only for the younger set. The game moves a lot faster, which I love. Theres no screwing around with late bets and constantly having to restack the chip stacks etc.

I'd say they have 20-25 seats in a ring around the tables. And they have an actual shooter come up to shoot the dice.

Anyway, its a pretty cool setup. I'll always take a live table if available in LV but as my biggest local if this is what they have - I didnt mind it at all.

IIRC, when I played the tournament was designed to end in one day. And I don't remember there being re-entries. It could be they've changed the structure from then. In any event, good luck if you play it.

The version I've seen had a one of those bubble shakers for craps. If someone gets up from their seat to roll the dice after making a bet, doesn't that take more time than a real craps game?

I wonder if players can wager on more than one game at a time. That would increase revenue.

Here's a video by one of the companies that makes one:

Thanks George, I appreciate it. Have hotel and airfare booked, planning to arrive during day 1A, register, and play 1B.

Most likely out that day, but maybe I'll be:

Regarding Diamond Card are any of the Laurel Lounges opened up for members?

None of the lounges in Vegas are open. Diamond plus will get you free drink tickets daily, diamond elite gets you free drinks and dining credit daily.

No, their version has a tiny one man live table in the middle of a ring of stations. The shooter has their own bet station at the one man table - so they make their bets right there.

And yes you can do craps, roulette and war I think at once.

here are the ones I am referencing in Vegas that have been installed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w9gZAjwqZs

Appreciate the information. I’ll be heading out there in a couple weeks and was hoping they would be open.

Being a Diamond Plus isn’t much better than the gold card. Makes a guy wonder why put the expense and effort to try and get more perks. They are always downgrading the levels.

rumor is El Dorado is considering doing away with Regular Diamond

The first year I played it, it was okay. The last year I played it I was surrounded by people with really disgusting scabs and assorted lesions all over them. Coughing and wheezing, etc.

That looks downright awful. Good thing I don't like to gamble any more.

That'll save me a lot of money every year trying to make Diamond.

Saw these as well this summer when I was out there. But I walked through three different CZ properties and at every single one the thing was out of order.

I wont mind that either.