Reaction to Electronic Tables Mostly Good

The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino is now the first to have electronic poker tables in their poker room.  They work the same as a regular card table but with one major difference, there is no dealer.  Some of the players enjoy the new electronic tables saying at least now they don't have to tip the dealer.

According to Zahra and his girlfriend, Rachel Stalcoskie, who needs human dealers when a machine will do just fine?  "I like it. It's faster than the live game and there really are no mistakes made here by the dealer," Stalcoskie said.

"The biggest thing is, you don't have to tip the dealer with the pot," Zahra noted.  Zahra and Stalcoskie, both of Pocono Lake, Pa., were engaged in a lively automated game of poker Tuesday afternoon against Manny Vega, of Ventnor.

The electronic table automatically shuffles and deals the cards that appear on a large video screen in the middle of the table.  Every player also gets a smaller display screen in front of them with touch controls so they can place bets, call or fold.

Anthony Spagno, Trump Plaza's director of table games, said the initial public reaction to automated poker has been a little slow, a response he attributed to gamblers having to acquaint themselves to entirely new technology.

"I just think it's going to take some time for them to look at the technology and become aware of the technology," Spagno said.

"This is a whole new arrival to what people are accustomed to," Polizzi added. "I'm sure, over time, it's going to feed the room very well with new customers."