The Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino has become the latest in Las Vegas to drop gaming chips and turn its live table games into hybrid live games with screen-based betting.
This October, the casino replaced its blackjack, roulette, craps, and casino poker betting systems with on-screen betting. A live human dealer is still present, dealing cards or operating the wheel – but all bets and payouts are now computerized and handled via screen terminals at the tables.
Although the casino still has to pay the wages for a dealer, the move will save the Silver Sevens’ operator Affinity Gaming money in the long run. Because there are no gaming chips, and all results are scanned and fed through a computer, the various small savings should stack up eventually. Or so the idea goes.
No Chips, Please
Among the advantages casinos see in offering hybrid live table games are increasing the speed of the game and eliminating the costs associated with chip storage and collection. It also reduces one element of risk, too, as casinos without chips can’t be robbed of them.
The savings also generally allow lower table game limits, which is often attractive to budget or locals-oriented casinos. This new way of playing can also reduce costs without cutting staff, which is never a popular or easy move in a place with strong unions like Las Vegas.
It also allows a wider hiring pool for dealers, as casinos can hire people based on personality or customer service skills, rather than quick math and game understanding.
Silver Sevens is one of half a dozen Las Vegas casinos that have taken on hybrid table games since 2020. It went fully hybrid with its table game selection on October 1. The technology for these games is provided by Las Vegas-based Interblock.
Treasure Island currently offers them alongside normal table games with chips, and Planet Hollywood offered them both for a year, but then axed the hybrid games. Wynn Las Vegas has a solitary hybrid live dealer craps table. Casino Royale is the most notable of Sin City gambling venues to fully go with hybrid table games, although other, smaller venues have also done so.
Interestingly, Silver Sevens still has one real blackjack table on the floor. As it has a $100,000 progressive jackpot still running on it, under Nevada law it can’t be removed until the jackpot is paid out.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
