PokerTek Poker Pro tables: The inside scoop WHY

[*TT*]

i just spoke with a trusted adviser in the industry, who explained to me the fiscal realities of the PokerTek Poker Pro ePoker tables.

First off I'd like to remind everyone that I firmly believe there is a place for these new machines in select casino applications.

<ul type="square">[*]Municipalities where live card games are illegal, but video Blackjack and similar games are legal.[*]Casino boats, and other remote locations where staff will always be hard to find[*]Casinos that do not have the resources available to build a poker room[*]existing Vegas casinos with small poker rooms and low traffic, looking to crossgrade (this may be accurate in the future, at this point as you will see below its probably not the wisest choice for this application)[*]Temprary tables for satelites during a large tournament where staffing would be lost at the expense of cash game revenue (this includes the WSOP IMHO, they have had a problem staffing cash games until tournament tables start breaking down)[/list]
PokerTek's Poker Pro tables lease for $160/day, $58,400/year. At this point Poker Pro tables cannot be bought. This is similar to Shufflemaster's policy a few years ago (casinos no longer have to lease their Shufflemaster machines). Lets assume the dealer costs $10/hour for an average 10 hours/day - $100/day in dealer costs + taxes and insurance package - lets assume its $115/day. So yes at face value it appears that Poker Tek's Poker Pro tables are more expensive to operate per day than a live table using the equivalent space.

HOWEVER eTables don't have the inherent slowdown of dealers or (we assume) the potential mistakes. Calls to the floor will also be greatly minimized, therefore we can estimate 45 hands per hour rather than the standard 35 hands/hour commonly found with live dealers. Thats a theoretical $40/hour in revenue per table added per 10 hour session (assuming its a raked game), or $400/day - $146,000/year of found money that is left on the table when using a dealer. This equates to $340/day in ROI, or $124,100/year.

There are of course downsides. For example it will be harder to maintain the game at an eTable, and unused tables result in fixed expenses where as unused live tables are essentially just underperforming assets.

In short, from this basic analysis we can conclude its in the best interest of some casinos to consider using PokerPro ePoker tables from PokerTek provided it doesn't alienate it's existing base of customers. In my opinion they should only be used as temporary rentals for satellites where the vig is large enough to pay for it's rental in one game, or in casinos that do not have a viable poker room operation already in place.

Lets face it - this is the future whether we like it or not, many casinos to make the switch within the next few years once the price drops or a sale of the unit is lowered to 100,00 or so rather than the current leasing strategy.