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ATLANTIC CITY - Perhaps the best thing about playing electronic poker, Marc Zahra said wryly, is that you don't have to tip the dealer.

With the live game of poker exploding in popularity across the country, it seemed only a matter of time before an automated version would appear in Atlantic City to satisfy the high-tech-crazed generation of younger gamblers.

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino has become the first gaming hall in town to introduce electronic poker tables. They mimic the live version of the game - except that they don't have human beings dealing the cards.

According to Zahra and his girlfriend, Rachel Stalcoskie, who needs human dealers when a machine will do just fine?

"I like it. It's faster than the live game and there really are no mistakes made here by the dealer," Stalcoskie said.

"The biggest thing is, you don't have to tip the dealer with the pot," Zahra noted.

Zahra and Stalcoskie, both of Pocono Lake, Pa., were engaged in a lively automated game of poker Tuesday afternoon against Manny Vega, of Ventnor.

The electronic games automatically shuffle and deal the cards, which appear on a large video screen in the middle of the table. Each player has a smaller display screen in front of them equipped with touch controls to place their bets, call or fold. There is a clear view of the pot size and chip count. Winners are automatically identified after each hand.

Vega, a veteran poker player who has become a fan of the automated games, hopes Trump Plaza will use the electronic tables for large tournaments. Unlike the cutthroat competition of live poker, the players at the automated games actually help each other to understand the basics of the game, he said.

"It's really a good tool for people who want to learn poker before they move on to the games with the real chips," Vega said. "If a novice comes to a cash game, who wants to explain the rules to him?"

Two weeks ago, Trump Plaza introduced 14 of the automated PokerPro tables, developed by PokerTek Inc., in its newly renovated East Tower gaming area. A dozen tables feature 10-player seating, while the other two are two-seaters for head-to-head competition. Texas Hold 'Em and Omaha are the types of poker games currently offered, with buy-ins ranging from a minimum of $20 to a maximum of $300, Trump officials said.

"We're the only one in town with these games," said Dave Polizzi, Trump Plaza's vice president of casino operations. "We have a good opportunity to bring something brand new here as an attraction for the customers."

Anthony Spagno, Trump Plaza's director of table games, said the initial public reaction to automated poker has been a little slow, a response he attributed to gamblers having to acquaint themselves to entirely new technology.

"I just think it's going to take some time for them to look at the technology and become aware of the technology," Spagno said.

"This is a whole new arrival to what people are accustomed to," Polizzi added. "I'm sure, over time, it's going to feed the room very well with new customers."

New Jersey has joined California, Connecticut, Michigan and Arkansas as casino states that have the PokerPro tables, according to PokerTek spokeswoman Tracy Egan. The company, based in Matthews, N.C., is going through the regulatory approval process in Nevada to introduce electronic poker in Las Vegas.

"If you basically look at where our tables are installed, it's not at Podunk casinos," Egan said.

PokerTek has a large presence at casinos in Canada and on Carnival Corp. cruise ships. It also has poker tables at casinos in Europe, Australia and South Africa and is looking to make a push into the lucrative Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, Egan said.

The arrival of electronic poker in Atlantic City coincides with an effort by the United Auto Workers to unionize casino dealers. So far, the UAW has won elections at Trump Plaza, Bally's Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City and Tropicana Casino and Resort. It lost union drives at Trump Marina Hotel Casino and the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort.

The UAW contends that union representation will provide dealers with better job security, pay and benefits. The UAW had no comment Tuesday on whether the union is concerned that the proliferation of electronic poker games could cost dealers their jobs.

Trump Plaza previously did not offer live poker, so no human dealers are in jeopardy of losing their jobs following the debut of the automated games, Spagno stressed.

"We didn't displace anybody," he said. "We didn't bring this in to eliminate anybody. We didn't create this room to get rid of jobs."

Written by Donald Wittkowski

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