{"id":262411,"date":"2024-10-15T20:38:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T20:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/15\/silver-sevens-flips-to-hybrid-table-games-rebrand-stalls\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:10:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:10:50","slug":"silver-sevens-flips-to-hybrid-table-games-rebrand-stalls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/15\/silver-sevens-flips-to-hybrid-table-games-rebrand-stalls\/","title":{"rendered":"Silver Sevens Flips to Hybrid Table Games, Rebrand Stalls"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n \"Scott <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n By Scott Roeben<\/a>, on October 14 2024 <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The off-Strip Silver Sevens casino has converted from traditional table games to \u201chybrid\u201d tables. These tables have live dealers, but no chips, and all wagering is done through terminals.<\/p>\n

During a recent visit, we not only checked out that intriguing twist, but also heard from several employees the casino\u2019s plans to rebrand to Continental, including a return of Pink Taco, appear to have been put on indefinite hold.<\/p>\n

Silver Sevens is operated by Affinity Gaming, the same company that owns three casinos in Primm\u2014Whiskey Pete\u2019s, Buffalo Bill\u2019s and Primm Valley Resort & Casino. Things are changing at those casinos as well, so gird up.<\/p>\n

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Casino gambling is evolving. Better or worse? Depends upon whom you ask. Yes, \u201cwhom.\u201d Shout-out to our sixth grade English teacher!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To begin, lots of casinos have electronic versions of traditional table games.<\/p>\n

So-called \u201chybrid\u201d games (ones that still have a live dealer) solve a number of challenges for casinos, their main benefit being cost savings on labor. It\u2019s worth mentioning Silver Sevens has not let any dealers go due to the changes in its table games.<\/p>\n

The biggest selling point for players? Low table minimums.<\/p>\n

The biggest difference overall is these games are chipless. Cue the sad trombone for all the chip collectors out there. (Although, if you already have chips from a casino that moves to chipless, the value of your collection just went up.)<\/p>\n

In many cases, hybrid games are a compromise so a casino doesn\u2019t have to shut down its table games pit completely, as has happened at several casinos in recent years.<\/p>\n

Casino Royale\u2019s table games have yet to return. Tuscany<\/a> bailed on table games until they returned recently. Railroad Pass<\/a>, in Vegas-adjacent Henderson, also dumped its table games.<\/p>\n

Our friends at Vegas Advantage<\/a> have done an excellent job of keeping an eye on these trends. They were the first to share the changes at Silver Sevens and at the casinos in Primm as well.<\/p>\n

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Find yourself hating hybrid table games despite never having played them? Just saying.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The terminology about what\u2019s happening at these casinos can be confusing. The headline at Vegas Advantage says, \u201cLive Table Games No Longer Dealt in Primm.\u201d All these hybrid games have dealers, though. They\u2019re still live games. Some refer to them as \u201cdealer-assisted\u201d table games.<\/p>\n

As most blackjack and roulette tables only have one dealer to begin with, the biggest change is for craps players.<\/p>\n

At Silver Sevens, the table games pit now has one Shoot to Win Craps table (one dealer, 10 seats, $5 minimum), four blackjack tables (one dealer, five seats, $5 minimum) and one roulette table (one dealer, two wheels, eight seats).<\/p>\n

The cards are real, the wheels are real, the dice are real (and rolled by guests). Live games, just not the way you\u2019re used to playing.<\/p>\n

For casinos, the benefits go beyond just cost savings. There\u2019s also something called \u201cgame protection.\u201d When chips and cash are used, cheating is more prevalent, along with employee theft and collusion. The folks at Vegas Advantage think the move to chipless games at Primm casinos may have to do with a recent theft we were the first to report, of course. A woman wiggled her way into an unstaffed casino cage and took $652,000 in cash and chips. Chipless tables take chips out of the equation.<\/p>\n

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Hearing Primm Valley Casino cage was robbed tonight, mid six figures. Biggest twist: Primm Valley Casino had mid six figures in its cage.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) July 19, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Hybrid games also give casinos more access to data, tracking play so they can make adjustments as needed. Enhancing revenue are other key elements of hybrid games, things like shuffle time and increased number of results.<\/p>\n

For example, on the roulette table, because of the two roulette wheels, players can bet twice as often because the wheels are always churning out results. Of course, one can sit out any given spin or just bet on one wheel, but what fun is that?<\/p>\n

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Double up to catch up, as the true believers say.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A big benefit of hybrid games is casinos can hire dealers for personality rather than math skills. See also Circa\u2019s dancing dealers. Just saying. Because games are mostly automated, dealers can focus on customer service.<\/p>\n

Players have mixed reactions to hybrid games, despite the fact they\u2019re often very much like the games they know and love.<\/p>\n

Beyond the lower minimums, digital games almost completely remove the possibility of dealer error. (This can be a plus or a minus, of course, depending upon if the error is made in the player\u2019s error.)<\/p>\n

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Are you one of those people who looks at the history board on roulette tables? Hybrid blackjack tracks the dealer\u2019s hand history. More busting requested, thanks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We appreciate hybrid games (and electronic games for that matter) and often recommend them to new players because it takes the pressure off, especially with the sometimes intimidating game of craps.<\/p>\n

Electronic and hybrid games give newbies the chance to play at their own pace, without the stress of betting on every hand or spin or roll. Players can just watch and learn. They can dabble, and when they bet, there isn\u2019t a lot of money on the line.<\/p>\n

On The Strip, to get into a typical dice game, you\u2019re in for $200 bucks before you know it.<\/p>\n

The minimums at Silver Sevens are $5, but they could theoretically go even lower. (The risk of $1 minimums, of course, is they draw $1 players. Casinos consider this a reasonable trade-off for no players.)<\/p>\n

That might be a good idea during this transition, because the dealers are getting brutalized financially. Silver Sevens is sort of a \u201cbreak-in\u201d house, so dealers were making a fraction of Strip dealers, even before the hybrid games, maybe $100 a shift. Now, even that has evaporated, we\u2019re told. It\u2019s better than having no table games, but still.<\/p>\n

There are buttons to tip dealers on the terminals, but one, there aren\u2019t a lot of players, and two, it\u2019s different tipping with virtual money instead of chips. Oh, when we played a hybrid game at Wynn (the last place we ever expected to see a hybrid craps table), we couldn\u2019t tip the dealer cash. We had to insert the tip into the machine and tip via the terminal.<\/p>\n

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Wynn has a this! pic.twitter.com\/JLqAb5UUnd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) October 10, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like we said, hybrid games are everywhere. Get used to them.<\/p>\n

While we were at Silver Sevens, just hanging out in the table games area, we witnessed customers expressing their strong feelings about the switch to hybrid games to members of the staff.<\/p>\n

One guest grumbled about the change to the blackjack games, then made his way to a fully electronic blackjack game. Gamblers aren\u2019t always driven by logic, they\u2019re often driven by mojo. Superstitions take time to overcome.<\/p>\n

Silver Sevens has some awareness-raising to do. Maybe give us some chips to fiddle with? Or bikini dealers? Just brainstorming here!<\/p>\n

We did a deep dive into Roll to Win Craps<\/a> when it made its debut on The Strip in 2021. There have been refinements to this game from Aruze Gaming (now part of Interblock<\/a>, makers of all the other hybrid games at Silver Sevens), mostly to prevent dice sliding, a method of cheating that caused some of the games to be removed from several Strip casinos.<\/p>\n

The switch to hybrid games means all of Silver Sevens traditional games have been shut down and removed from the casino floor.<\/p>\n

Except one.<\/p>\n

A blackjack table with a $100,000 progressive is tucked into a corner. Why is this worth noting? Because according to gaming regulations, if a progressive can\u2019t be transferred to another game, it has to be given away.<\/p>\n

Once this table is removed from the floor, Silver Sevens has 30 days to give away the money. This could be very good news for players, and we\u2019ll keep an eye on how this giveaway is done. We won\u2019t tell you about it until after we win, because we don\u2019t need additional competition, but you can bet the minute it\u2019s over with, you\u2019ll hear all about it!<\/p>\n

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Once they pull the plug on this table, they have to give away the $100,000 progressive. We are so there.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for the buzzed-about Silver Sevens rebrand to Continental<\/a>, we\u2019ve been told by front line staff it\u2019s dead, but executives say it\u2019s \u201ca matter of timing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also in limbo is the return of a popular restaurant brand, Pink Taco. We\u2019re betting that plan isn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n

At first we figured the stalled rebrand was financial, but if you go down the casino rabbit hole, you\u2019ll find Affinity Gaming is part of Z Capital Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The official site for Z Capital says, \u201cZCG is a leading, privately held merchant bank comprised of private markets asset management, business consulting services and technology development and solutions.\u201d Which translates as, \u201cZ Capital could purchase New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company owns a ton of restaurant brands, any number of which might fit into Silver Sevens\u2019 big picture. We\u2019re rooting for Italian, but ZCG and its Xperience Restaurant Group<\/a> mainly do Mexican: Acapulco, Chevys Fresh Mex, El Torito, El Torito Grill, Las Brisas, Who Song & Larry\u2019s, Sinigual, SOL Cocina, Solita, Rio Mambo, The RIM Scratch Craft Eats and Cal Mex Cantina.<\/p>\n

No, really, they have a restaurant called The Rim. Please, please bring that brand to Las Vegas, Silver Sevens.<\/p>\n

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The Rim would provide so many jobs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Food is a key challenge at Silver Sevens. The casino\u2019s City Cafe<\/a> is fairly well-regarded, but it closes early most nights (9:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday). There was a taco truck parked in the casino\u2019s port cochere the night we visited (following a Flo Rida appearance).<\/p>\n

Anyway, there are lots of changes in the works at Silver Sevens, and the casino has a new General Manager, Jack Behrens.<\/p>\n

Behrens was General Manager of Oyo for a year and previously held positions at Dreamscape (owners of Rio) and Paragon Gaming. He\u2019s a financial guy, but has his finger on the pulse of casinos and gambling, as he is an avid poker player<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Silver Sevens faces some unique challenges, and by that we mean location.<\/p>\n

The casino caters mainly to people who live in the neighborhood. Translation: Grinders. It\u2019s a little like Ellis Island, but Silver Sevens is even farther from The Strip. The address is 4100 Paradise Rd., but it\u2019s really on Flamingo.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve always liked the place and tend to have good luck gambling there. On the night of our visit, we hit a royal flush for $1,077.<\/p>\n

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The attendant said he enjoys Vital Vegas, so we must make mention of that in this photo caption. It\u2019s the law.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While not a taxable event, it was a handpay, anyway. It wasn\u2019t a progressive, but the $77 is just tacked onto the jackpot as an on-brand perk for playing there (and making it a handpay offers attendants an additional chance for tips).<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll hit Silver Sevens more often if they fix the restaurant issue and keep cranking out those royals. Your results may vary.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n