Friday, August 11, 2006

When Antonio Esfandiari first sat down at a PokerPro automated poker table,
he was a little unsure about the technology."I was very hesitant at first,
and then I sat down, and I was like 'Wow!' because it really feels like
poker," Esfandiari said. "It's like a dream come true; it's so awesome. I
think it's so much better for tournaments, especially."Esfandiari won a
single table exhibition against the likes of Mike Sexton, Kenna James,
Clonie Gowen and other professional players at the Aussie Poker Millions in
January on the table, which combines the technology of Internet poker with
live poker. The PokerPro table offers a computerized Texas Hold'em game,
with each player's seat in front of a touch screen that reveals hole cards
and chip stacks. When it is a player's turn to act, that player is prompted
to check, bet, raise or fold. Marketing statements claim that the tables
average a 50 percent increase in hands per hour over traditional live
tables, which pleases both players and card room management, and the table
can run either a live cash game or a tournament.

PokerTek, the North Carolina-based company behind the technology, has been
slowly building momentum for the past two years. While some poker rooms have
utilized the technology for over a year, others are just signing on.
Carnival Cruise Lines tried the table for the first time on one cruise ship
in late April and it was such a success that the company signed a three-year
contract to expand the deal to other ships.

"The cruise industry is just awesome for us," said Chris Manley, an
Implementation Consultant with PokerTek. "It's a dream for these cruise
ships, who have a captive audience. It makes a ton of money, and you don't
have to keep the dealers working at the table."

Despite the recent growth, the news wasn't quite as cheery as PokerTek
announced their results for the second quarter of 2006 on Thursday
afternoon. The company finished the quarter with a loss of over $2.2 million
($0.24 per diluted share), but PokerTek CEO Lou White remained positive
despite the numbers.

"While expenses were in line with our operating plan, we are behind our
revenue target as it has taken us longer than expected to more broadly
introduce the PokerPro system to the market, which is attributable in large
part to regulatory delays," White said in a statement after announcing the
results. "However, we are encouraged by many recent developments on the
regulatory front, we are enthusiastic about our installation pipeline of
announced and soon-to-be announced installations, and we are very proud of
the progress that we continue to make toward our goals."

Part of that progress was taking place at the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
Gaming Life Expo. PokerTek's corner booth was one of the busiest exhibits as
interested onlookers were invited to play turbo sit-and-go tournaments, with
the winner getting a free T-shirt, hat or sweatshirt.

The software at PokerPro tables requires very little interaction on the
casino's part, most notably in providing dealers. The elimination of the
dealer at these tables has produced a mixed reaction. Some players enjoy a
boost to their bankroll as tipping dealers is eliminated, but others just
aren't ready to believe that the computerized game is as random as a deck of
cards (it is). Dealers, however, are understandably worried about becoming
irrelevant.

"Dealers want to hate it right away because obviously they think it's a
threat to their job," Manley said. "I look at our table as a stepping stone.
You've got players who are used to playing online. They've never walked into
a casino, and when they do, they walk in and see a poker room with all these
guys and it's an intimidating place. All the unspoken rules of poker are
taken care of for you online. (The PokerPro table) looks familiar, and they
play on this for a while and now they are used to playing with players in
person. Now they're ready to make that jump, and it's kind of like a little
stepping stone from the Internet to a live game."

The Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Tampa, Florida was one of the
first to use the table. Henry Funke, the poker room manager at the Seminole
Hard Rock has seen the table overcome early resistance from both players and
dealers.

"It's not the table's fault," Funke said. "But they can't talk for
themselves. For them to be accepted, you have to overcome a lot of dealer
resentment, you have to overcome a lot of management in other casinos that
don't want to deal with them. But what we're running on them now are things
that dealers don't mind not having to deal. These tables are very efficient
at running low-limit, single-table tournaments, and they're not really
affecting the dealers in their take-home pay."

Despite these obstacles, the system has taken hold at the Seminole Hard
Rock. The 50-table poker room includes two PokerPro tables, and Funke is
planning on bringing in another.

"It's going to be the wave of the future," Funke said. "I wouldn't be
surprised if you see final tables on television in the near future being
dealt by PokerPro. I think it lends itself very well to that type of format,
in terms of not having to worry about players showing (a holecam) their
cards."

The tables, which have become popular in each location where they have been
placed, are currently only equipped to run Texas Hold'em games. PokerTek,
however, plans to launch Omaha in the near future and will continue to
expand on the repertoire of games as demand dictates.

Some players insist they will miss the physical aspect of holding cards and
doing chip tricks, but Manley has a quick response for those players: "Did
you come here to play with your chips, or did you come here to play poker?"

Those looking to play poker might soon be finding themselves at a PokerPro
table.