Live Poker Table Numbers Continue to Fall

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Monday, April 17th, 2017 | Written by Shane Larson

Even as several US states currently consider moves to legalize online poker and other forms of Internet gaming, the number of land-based casinos where a player is able to join a poker game is continuing to dwindle. While some people say that this indicates interest in poker is on the decline, it is much more likely that the number of poker rooms from coast to coast shrinking is actually a course correction from over expansion during the previous decade.

Atlantic City

Atlantic City is one of the areas where the number of poker tables has contracted the most, with the Trump Taj Mahal having once been the preeminent destination for poker players on the East Coast. However, the casino was shuttered last year, and although the poker room is set to open again in July, most people believe it will be much smaller than it previously was. In fact, the Atlantic Club, the Showboat, the Revel and the Trump Plaza all once boasted poker rooms that have now either closed completely, or reassigned the space to other casino games.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is also seeing a reduction in the number of its poker rooms. In 2012, for instance, the Tropicana, the Ellis Island and Aliante Station all closed their poker rooms, followed in 2013 by Bills Gambling Hall, the Riviera, Circus Circus and the El Cortez, and in 2014 by the Sunset Station and Texas Station. 2015 then saw the end of poker at The Linq and Hooters, and now, Sin City is down to just 39 poker rooms, with only 79 poker rooms existing in all of Nevada. This is the lowest number the state has had in operation since 2004.

To put these number decline into some kind of dollar value perspective, in 2002 the Las Vegas Strip boasted 144 poker tables, which by 2007 fell to 405 tables producing $97 million, and then last year to 320 tables accounting for $78 million of revenues. State wide, Nevada had 907 tables in 2007 which collected $168 million, which in 2016 fell to 661 tables generating $118 million.

A Market Correction

As alarming as the closures may be, industry analysts mostly agree that the poker market is actually adjusting to the size that it should be. After Chris Moneymaker’s landmark victory at the 2003 World Series of Poker, a huge boom happened in which casinos across the country scrambled to get in on the excitement. Many subsequently sacrificed sizable areas of their gaming floors to add poker rooms that were far too large to ever be filled completely, and this bloating of the poker market simply wasn’t sustainable over the long term. Now, it seems that the most popular venues will remain open, while other casinos that acted over zealously focus on the games that their patrons prefer.

New Poker Rooms Still Opening

Even as the number of available poker tables is decreasing in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, new rooms are opening in other parts of the country. The Parx Casino and Sugarhouse Casino in Pennsylvania, the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida and Maryland LIVE! all have thriving poker rooms that are a cornerstone of their gaming floors. World Series of Poker-branded card rooms have also recently opened at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and Harrah’s in Atlantic City, and rumor has it that PokerStars is in talks to build a $10 million poker room at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. In fact, even before PokerStars received a New Jersey license just over a year ago, the brand planned to build such a room in the casino of its strategic partner, and as company spokesman William J. Pascrell III commented at the time:

“As soon as the license is in hand, they’re ready to start building. PokerStars is committed to investing significant resources to put in a brand new poker room at Resorts Casino Hotel. In addition to the poker room, they are committed to driving traffic to Atlantic City through their marketing.”

PokerStars has subsequently proved true to its words in that regard, and as well as driving online traffic via its superior product and marketing promotions, the brand has also been drumming up extra traffic through its live Championship and Festival events.