South Florida racetrack casinos are only legally allowed to offer electronic versions of blackjack, roulette and craps, but they’re part of a trend: Those electronic table games are starting to become more prevalent in the United States, as casino officials look at them as a way to attract new players.
“Imagine playing blackjack when your strategy isn’t perfect,” Debra Nutton, executive vice president of casino operations at Wynn Las Vegas said during a gambling convention in Las Vegas recently. “An ETG gives you the opportunity to not have to listen to someone else at the table getting into your head.”
Only about 0.5 percent of slot floor space in the United States is devoted to electronic tables, as opposed to 5 to 10 percent in Asia and Europe.
In Florida, The Seminole Tribe of Florida has exclusive rights to live blackjack and other table games, but no roulette or craps. Broward and Miami-Dade horse tracks, dog tracks and jai-alai frontons are allowed to have slots after a 2004 state vote and county referendums. Those racetrack casinos added the electronic games shortly after opening.
John Connelly, CEO of Interblock Gaming, naturally made a case for adding ETGs, speaking on a panel with Nutton at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas in late September.
“If they are 50 or older and playing online, over 90 percent are playing slots,” he said. “For those 40 and under, 90 percent play table games. They’re very accustomed to touch screen and they’re very accustomed to solitude.”
Donnelly said Interblock is expanding its monitor to 27 inches to allow side bets, calling them “opt ins.” Technology also now allows for multiple game play, such as one person working two roulette wheels at once.
“So that increases the handle without making it too complicated,” he said.
The panelists also compared the communal feel of regular table games vs. ETGs.
“Gamblers have huge egos,” Nutton said. “So we’re really here on the table game side, to be a captive audience. We laugh at their jokes, ask about their kids. When they walk up it’s our job to know who they are, know what they drink.
“Young people have egos like everyone else but they want to make sure we treat them with respect. When we talk to them like they don’t know what they’re doing, we turn them off.”
