{"id":347000,"date":"2025-08-19T15:40:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/golden-gate-to-replace-all-live-table-games-with-electronic-table-games\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T15:40:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:40:49","slug":"golden-gate-to-replace-all-live-table-games-with-electronic-table-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/golden-gate-to-replace-all-live-table-games-with-electronic-table-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Gate to Replace All Live Table Games with Electronic Table Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n By Scott Roeben<\/a>, on August 09 2025 <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

We recently shared the news Golden Gate casino will close its lone remaining craps table, but we missed the forest for the trees.<\/p>\n

The casino has confirmed it is, in fact, removing all its live table games. In our lifetime. Golden Gate.<\/p>\n

Have you ever written a blog post while in the throes of psychogenic shock? It ain\u2019t easy, so we\u2019ll keep it short. Please feel free to refer to our previous post<\/a> about the dice table.<\/p>\n

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We did not see this coming and we know everything, including dirt about that famous Strip magician who performs overseas and gets paid in cash, then hides the money in his prop boxes to avoid the taxes when he returns to the states.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As expressed previously, the demand for live table games is declining while the cost of operating table games is rising. Here\u2019s some math<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some casinos, like Casino Royale, removed their live table games entirely. Others have switched to \u201chybrid\u201d games, like Silver Sevens. Many casinos now have a mix of live table games, hybrid games and electronic table games or ETGs.<\/p>\n

After publishing our story about the demise of craps at Golden Gate, we received this statement from Circa Hospitality Group: \u201cBig changes are coming to the Golden Gate, and we couldn\u2019t be more excited. As the oldest hotel in Las Vegas, we\u2019ve always embraced the future, and now we\u2019re reimagining our casino floor with a high-energy electronic table games pit unlike anything downtown has seen. Expect more excitement, faster gameplay, and all the newest machines. All of our table games team members at the Golden Gate are being offered roles at Circa or the D, or the opportunity to explore new departments within the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been covering Las Vegas for more than a decade, so it\u2019s tough to surprise us. In this case, surprise is an understatement.<\/p>\n

It could be argued Golden Gate is the most Las Vegas casino, ever.<\/p>\n

The idea an iconic, old-school casino will be without live table games rejiggers one\u2019s reality and understanding of what casinos are, and what they will be moving forward.<\/p>\n

If it were anywhere else, we\u2019d say they\u2019re nuts, but we know quite a few Circa and Golden Gate and The D (all owned by Derek and Greg Stevens) executives, and they know what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

The business case for this change is nuanced and complicated, so naturally we don\u2019t really understand it.<\/p>\n

Beyond the simple economics (every machine and every game in any casino gets a frequent and ongoing cost\/benefit analysis), this change speaks to some cultural changes nobody anticipated. People don\u2019t love interacting with people all that much anymore, at least not the people who are visiting casinos.<\/p>\n

Habits and preferences have changed since the pandemic. More people are having their food delivered, rather than grocery shopping. When was the last time you went to a Meetup? Many people don\u2019t go to an office anymore. The world is weird.<\/p>\n

People act like interacting with robots to check in at a hotel or to check a bag is a bad thing, but a lot of people actually like that more than the human interaction. Robots replaced service bartenders at Las Vegas casinos several years ago. They\u2019re doing the jobs of security guards, too. There\u2019s more to come.<\/p>\n

ChatGPT summarizes the reasons for the pivot away from live table games toward electronic table games thusly: 1. Social Anxiety & Reduced Social Friction, 2. Desire for Control Over Pace, 3. Lower Economic Barrier to Entry, 4. Familiarity With Screens & Digital Interfaces, 5. Perception of Fairness & Privacy, 6. Convenience & Consistency, 7. The Post-Pandemic Shift.<\/p>\n

A.I. did a great job, but a human casino enthusiast would never have created a list with seven items because it\u2019s bad luck. On a related note, how do we still have a job?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how ChatGPT explained the cultural shift following COVID: \u201cCOVID didn\u2019t just change public health\u2014it rewired expectations. Self-checkouts, delivery apps, and chatbots normalized the idea that fewer human touchpoints mean fewer hassles. That mindset now spills into gambling, where electronic table games offer the same predictability: no unpredictable dealers, no judgment from other players, no social pressure. What once felt cold and impersonal now reads as streamlined and efficient\u2014a feature, not a flaw, in the post-pandemic casino experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casinos use analytics to decide their game mixes, and Golden Gate\u2019s table game demand has declined over time. This is what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

The ETGs on the second floor of Circa are apparently doing extraordinarily well.<\/p>\n

The thought is empty table games drain the energy from a casino floor, ETGs will give Golden Gate a boost in that regard.<\/p>\n

The bad news: Golden Gate, the first Las Vegas casino to have dancing dealers, will no longer have dancing dealers.<\/p>\n

The good news: Nobody\u2019s going to lose their jobs due to the change. All the dealers and dancing dealers will be absorbed into Circa and The D, unless they bail because they don\u2019t like making more money.<\/p>\n

More good news: ETGs have lots of benefits. Lower minimums. They\u2019re less daunting to new players. You can play at your own speed, without the pressure of knowing what you\u2019re doing. Less jargon. Fewer players angry at you because you bought in during a roll or let the dice hit you or you stood on 14 against a 10.<\/p>\n

More good news for a casino: ETGs don\u2019t call in sick, they don\u2019t take breaks or need health insurance. The cost savings is significant.<\/p>\n

Bookmark this blog post so you can check back in 10 years and see whether we were right when we predicted you won\u2019t be able to find live table games in most Las Vegas casinos in 2035. Don\u2019t shoot the messenger. Casinos follow customer trends, they don\u2019t set them. It\u2019s you that\u2019s changed.<\/p>\n

The ETG update at Golden Gate is expected to be complete by the end of August 2025.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told this decision has been discussed for several years by the owners and management of Circa. It\u2019s being discussed by every casino these days.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to need some time to adjust.<\/p>\n

Go hit those tables at Golden Gate while you still can, and enjoy that bouncy felt on the craps table. You can get an eye patch at the ABC Store.<\/p>\n

\"Derek
Derek Stevens is the de facto mayor of downtown Las Vegas. He didn\u2019t become a quadrillionaire by making rash decisions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Update (8\/9\/25): The response to our story has been lively, much of it leaning negative, as people share their fond memories of playing table games at Golden Gate (we have many of our own).<\/p>\n

We prodded Golden Gate owner Derek Stevens to share more about the reasoning behind the move, and he has some insights worth considering.<\/p>\n

Stevens said, \u201cWe still get people who ask me if we are going to bring back deep fried Twinkies. My response has never changed: we\u2019re thinking about it. Eventually people move on, particularly if you give them a great product. With what we are doing at Golden Gate, we have the ability to be a leader and create one of the coolest vibes in Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s referring to past criticism he and his team have received about pretty much any change they\u2019ve made. In this case, the Twinkies were served at Mermaids (which stood where Circa is now), a gross little casino beloved by millions of Las Vegas visitors. We liked it ironically. We had the last deep fried Oreo<\/a> ever served there. It remains undigested.<\/p>\n

\"Mermaids
Cost us a $20 tip and nausea, totally worth it for the bragging rights.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyway, the point is people are nostalgic about just about everything. They miss La Bayou (a slot joint famous for its hangovers, Stevens acquired it for a Golden Gate expansion), the demolition of Las Vegas Club, the renaming of Fitzgerald\u2019s (now, the D).<\/p>\n

People didn\u2019t watch the Show in the Sky at Rio, but they miss it. Ditto the pirate show at TI. Even if they watched, they didn\u2019t spend anything in the casino. There\u2019s a lot of bemoaning happening.<\/p>\n

Stevens continues, \u201cWe have seen what is happening in these high limit slot rooms around town. We are creating an entire casino with a high limit slot vibe, yet you don\u2019t need to be a high limit player to enjoy. And we have a perfect bar in the middle of all the action.\u201d<\/p>\n

We actually weren\u2019t aware of what\u2019s happening in high limit slot rooms around town, but apparently they\u2019re all the rage and have become hot spots to party. We need to get out more.<\/p>\n

Stevens also speaks to a larger trend casinos should pay attention to: \u201cI always thought slots were for older people but it\u2019s changed, dramatically, over the last decade. Young people love, love, love these electronic slots. All types of them. The high limit slot rooms around town have become the newest places to hang out. Some places like Aria now have two in their property. We are building the newest thing people don\u2019t know they want, and when you do that, some people hang onto the past because they can\u2019t envision a different and better future. I know we hit the target on this, but it\u2019s a target no one else can see right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our kneejerk reaction is, \u201cYou don\u2019t know what we want, you\u2019re not our mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then again, as we reflect upon our own gambling habits, we realize it\u2019s been years since we\u2019ve played live table games. Yet we love them, or thought we did.<\/p>\n

Come to find out, we are one of our fellow youths.<\/p>\n

Our tastes changed and we weren\u2019t even really aware of it.<\/p>\n

Some of this touches upon tectonic shifts in our society, largely fallout of the pandemic and the ultimate brain mucker-wither, smartphones.<\/p>\n

There was a Tweet that got a lot of impressions that dips its toe into the changes happening with the youths.<\/p>\n

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Christ this data is so grim:<\/p>\n

“The troubling decline in conscientiousness. A critical life skill is fading out \u2014 and especially fast among young adults.” pic.twitter.com\/gOKhcpzAaB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rob Wiblin (@robertwiblin) August 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Attitudes are changing. Our habits and preferences are changing. Why would anyone think casinos are immune from such changes? If people are becoming less outgoing or gregarious, that has an impact on how they spend their time and money.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a little odd putting Golden Gate at the center of this discussion, as it may not be indicative of most casinos: It\u2019s very small, so it can\u2019t really afford to stick with games that aren\u2019t making much just for old time\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

The analogy to buffets is a pretty good one. People love buffets. They lose money. They aren\u2019t coming back.<\/p>\n

Derek Stevens and his team live and breathe the casino business. The Stevens brothers invested heavily in downtown, and downtown Las Vegas owes them a debt. Yes, the drink prices are higher now and downtown\u2019s slots are tighter than The Strip\u2019s now, but downtown is vibrant and growing as The Strip is facing serious challenges.<\/p>\n

Backlash to changes is amplified online. The jury is out on the removal of live table games at Golden Gate until we see what\u2019s next. Derek Stevens and his team are \u201cexcited,\u201d we are \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d and possibly \u201cCasino Royale jumpy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlene L.<\/a> on Twitter said, \u201cGolden Gate with live tables feels like Sinatra without the suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Challenge accepted.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019re guaranteed to play craps at Golden Gate before its table shuts down, and will definitely try a little roulette as well. We might try and be there for the wheel\u2019s final spin to note the number for posterity.<\/p>\n

The final roulette spin at Tropicana was 3 red. The last roulette spin at Bill\u2019s Gamblin\u2019 Hall was 7 red.<\/p>\n

Everything isn\u2019t ruined. We\u2019re just getting started on the denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. It\u2019s harder to move past \u201cdenial\u201d because, of course, casinos are moving away from live tables to ETGs, BUT THIS IS GOLDEN GATE! Oh, wait, we\u2019re moving into anger. Deep breaths.<\/p>\n

Actually, there needs to be a new stage of grief: Hard ways. Somewhere between \u201cdepression\u201d and \u201cacceptance,\u201d probably.<\/p>\n

More to come.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n