Virtual Table Gaming Coming To Pennsylvania Area

A Las Vegas based company, Shuffle Master Inc. is set to change the landscape of the Pennsylvania slot machine business. Their electronic table game of blackjack has been approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, meaning that players will now be able to play the popular card game on Shuffle Master's virtual reality machines.

The way the machine works is players sit around a half circle and take turns playing the games, which are shown on two 42 inch televisions. The two T.V.'s have one picture showing the table of cards, and the other shows an interactive virtual dealer.

Bob Hartman, a Casino Gambling Web reporter, recently visited Delaware Park where these games are already played. Here is an excerpt from his review of this style game...

"There is a large screen LCD screen behind the table, which projects an image of a dealer; the one I selected was a busty blond in a skimpy teddy. Her head and eyes move from player to player as wagers are placed, she then deals the cards and they seemingly are in the proper position on the table in front of you. Once the cards are dealt the game progresses as normal; you can double down, split, hold and surrender. In their form of blackjack, the dealer must hit 16 and stay on all 17's. The feeling is almost as real as being in a Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino, yet it is more comparable to Online Gambling using the Internet only with real people playing next to you and with you."

State law in Pennsylvania, and Delaware, does not allow actual table games in the casinos. The new machines in Penn were accepted because they have no real live dealers, coupled with the fact that on a machine one player cannot determine another player's odds, thus it is not exactly the same as Vegas style table gaming.

Nevada is another state that has approved the machines and the hope is that in the very near future the game will be arriving at both states' casinos.

The current cost of the game is $135,000, but that price does not seem so steep because each game has a five person capacity, so it's actually as if the casinos are purchasing five slot machines instead of one.

The next step in the advancement of the game is to get the stud and hold 'em portions of the software legalized. Once that occurs, it would almost be as though these casinos would be running full gambling enterprises like the ones in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

April 20, 2007
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!