ePoker Room, a way to play virtual poker in a real casino

Well, they don't call it "Lalaland" for nothing: a Los Angeles casino has just opened up a live ePoker table, appropriately called the "ePoker Room." Meaning you can go to a live casino (specifically, the Hollywood Park Casino) to play computerized poker. While none of us here at Engadget are big poker players, we still love the idea that you can go to a physical location to do something that you can easily do at any hour from the internet -- kind of like that bar Remote in New York. And according to a firsthand account in Poker News, the system even still takes all the human interaction out of the whole equation: "The electronic tables require no dealers, as the players select all their actions via the touch screen in front of them. The system even takes away from a floorperson's job, as there is a kiosk where you can put yourself on a waiting list for a table." But you'll still have to do slightly more work than if you stayed home, as your ID, cash and chips are contained electronically on a magnetic stripe card. In other words, you've still got to swipe the card to play, which does require a modicum of physical exertion, but certainly nothing that might risk burning more than a tenth of a calorie, you poker stud, you.

[Via The Raw Feed]

[Wonderboy @ Oct 20th 2006 8:05AM]

Those screens don't look polarized.

*Hmmm, two 9's... dang, that guy over there has three of a kind* "I fold."

[zach m @ Oct 20th 2006 8:37AM]

engadget, your missing the main point here

online gambling/poker is now illegal as of October 13th. thanks bush :)

[Chris Heinonen @ Oct 20th 2006 8:47AM]

Hard Rock Casino in Tampa had those last time I was in Florida, I think they were only being used for tournaments, where cash games still had an actual dealer at the table. Made the tournaments go faster, but took away from the experience, IMO.

#2, Bush didn't make online gambling illegal. All it made was using your credit card to pay for online gambling illegal. You can still use a direct deposit from your bank account (as the banking industry didn't want to deal with it), or a deposit to a place like Neteller to do it. Your gambling on there isn't illegal, it's just illegal for them to take a certain method of payment. I know, I opened another account last night since my previous site stopped letting US players play for real money.

[Jonathan Sundy @ Oct 21st 2006 9:53AM]

Not quite.

They made it illegal for any bank transaction between a US bank and the online poker sites. So no, direct deposit won't work anymore.

Netteller is owned outside of the states so it will continue to be a viable solution for funding online poker.

I'm far from positive but I didn't here if Bush actually signed it or not yet. Point is that the banks will have 250 days from the time he actually signs it to come up with a solution.


Just remember kids, this is all Senator Frist's fault for sneaking it into a port security bill with not enough time for anyone to even discuss it. FUCK FRIST, rumor has it he's a very likely republican candidate.

[Pedro @ Oct 20th 2006 9:39AM]

Chris... we still have them here in Tampa. They have been installed for at least 6 months. They are used all day long for $120 tournaments and are actually fun to play on.

[Giorgio @ Oct 20th 2006 9:47AM]

This is very old.

The have them down at the Seminole Hard Rock in south Florida... I have played there a couple of times, they are atleast 6 months old

[edge @ Oct 20th 2006 1:33PM]

Yes, they have had them in tampa for a long time now, they are called "pokerPro"

[Chris Falco @ Oct 20th 2006 7:49PM]

This is actually a good thing for poker players. First a couple points:

I've used these poker tables in Florida and I found them very slick. Here's why:

1.) Players cards are not exposed, you have to place your hands on the corner of your screen and then your cards will be exposed. It's a natural motion that most poker players use to see their cards anyways, so there's no need to worry about people trying to peek at your screen.

2.) In tournaments and cash games players are usually expected to tip when they win. Most cash games $1 a pot is acceptable and for tournaments anywhere from 2%-7% is in the ballpark. This is a big chunk of $ over the long run. Winning a $10,000 tourney and being expected to tip $200 does effect your bankroll. As does winning 20-30 pots and tipping $1 each time over several hours.

These poker players remove the need for tipping.

3.)Now I personally love both the machines and live dealers. I think the machines have given the casinos the ability to spread more games and at lower limits. For example the lowest no limit game you're likely to find anywhere is $1/2. With these machines, there's an upfront fixed cost and then maintence afterwards. If 10 people show up and want to play a no limit game with .25/.50 blinds and there's a table not being used, there is no reason for the casino to not open up that table for their customers. They don't have to print up poker chips less than $1, or pay a dealer. It's just because it's more efficient.

4.) There is no time wasted shuffling, dealing, counting chips or splitting pots. This means the players get to play more poker in the same amount of time. There are no misdeals and human error is all but elimated.

5.) More information is available to the player, having live accurate chipcounts for all players helps players make better decisions.

6.) This hybrid table keeps the social aspects of the game with the efficiency of online poker. If anything it will give players access to more games and tournaments, allow them to play more poker in the same time and pretty much elimate dealer/player cheating (if you're worried about that)

--Chris Falco
http://www.US-POKER-SITES.com

[Jonathan Sundy @ Oct 21st 2006 9:59AM]

Thanks for the excellent commentary Chris, I was figured I'd have to google it to get an experienced opinion on it haha.