By
Jerry Smith
Staff Writer Updated: 05/17/2020
Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.
Texas Hold’Em Poker Ace Card, Photo by © Pixabay
Over recent weeks, state economies across the country have been devastated as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Millions of individuals and businesses in the country have been affected, and among those feeling the impact of the pandemic is the casino industry.
Due to social distancing measures and a national lockdown to try to slow the rate of infection, brick-and-mortar casinos have been forced to close since the middle of March. This has resulted in huge revenue losses for both the casinos and for state economies.
There is now fresh concern about the ongoing impact of social distancing on casino gaming, including on live poker rooms in Las Vegas.
While casinos across the state will start to reopen over the coming weeks, there will be restrictions in place. These have been put into place to enable social distancing to be maintained. It includes spacing out slot machine players, limiting numbers at gaming tables, and running at a maximum of 50% occupancy.
Among the restrictions being brought in for casinos is four-handed poker gaming, which will have to become the new norm under social distancing restrictions. However, many are now worried about the future of live poker gaming because of the player limitations put in place.
While some people are willing to continue enjoying live poker even with players limited to four, others believe it could have a big negative impact on poker rooms. Norman Chad, an ESPN poker commentator, recently said:
Four-handed poker is great around the kitchen table. But it doesn’t translate to a poker room unless they’re comping glasses of milk and my mom’s homemade honey graham crackers.
One event that might be affected by this is the World Series, which organizers have said will go ahead this year. How they’ll adapt the tournaments to comply with social distancing has not yet been revealed.
The Nevada governor has already said that the state’s casinos will not be reopening right away, and when they do, it will be under strict guidelines and scrutiny. There is also speculation over whether live poker rooms will reopen at the same time as casinos, with some poker room operators saying that they do not know what to expect yet.
In a recent email, the PR manager at the Venetian, Elaine Chaivarlis, said that plans for live poker at the casino were still being looked at. She said that the casino had been working hard to try and finalize changes stemming from the COVID-19 closures and that details would be released as soon as more was known.
There is also speculation that some casinos may dispose of live poker rooms altogether and replace them with slot machines. Chad said that four-handed poker rooms would be a ‘tough sell’ for casinos. He added that the pots would be too small for players and the costs couldn’t be justified by operators.
The decision may also be based on profitability, with the state’s casinos making just $143 million from poker in 2019 out of a total gaming win of $12 billion.
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