Sands Casino in Bethlehem PA has unveiled a new way to gamble hoping to attract the coming generation of young, tech savvy patrons - stadium seating at table games. The casino has put itself at the head of what they hope will be the next craze in casino gambling. The hybrid games combine the ease and fast pace of a slot machine with the feel of a live dealer and are already common in casinos in Macau and Singapore, but are only recently finding their way to the US.
The Sands is so confident that the games will appeal to the new generation of players and they have already invested $5 million in removing its underperforming juice bar, Infusion, and are replacing it with a stadium-style setup of 150 seats and have hired 40 new workers to run it. Players surround live dealers in the center of the stadium seats and place their bets on slot machine style tables as the games are played live. Parx Casino and Mohegan Sun will also be playing the games on a smaller scale.
There are no chips and no cards are dealt to the players, but a live dealer in the middle of the stadium deals a hand that can be seen on video at each player’s machine. The games are fast because there’s no stopping to cash in money or pay off bets. It’s all done electronically and when you’re ready to cash in you push a button and grab your voucher. The stadium terminals are programmable, allowing a choice of several languages including English, Spanish, and Mandarin. Their goal is to attract younger players and Asian ones. Bets will be more affordable. Now there are no $5 blackjack tables at the Sands and on Friday and Saturday nights the $10 minimum often goes up to $20 or $25.
Will it pay off? Opinions vary. Sands already leads the state in table game earnings, raking in more than $225 million last year in blackjack, roulette, and craps - $70 more than second-place finisher Parx Casino. But here’s the real reason why Sands could hit the jackpot with the new hybrids: TAXES. Pennsylvania’s tax on slot machines at 54 % is among the highest in the nation. However, because table games require a casino to hire more workers — dealers, supervisors, pit bosses, finance people — to run them, the tax on table games is just 14%. The new hybrid games allow Sands to run the whole stadium with just a handful of dealers, but they are taxed at the table game rates of 14 percent.
It always comes down to money, doesn’t it?
Thanks to Matt Assad of The Morning Call for the news.
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