Question of the Day - 28 September 2025

It all depends if blackjack  pays  3to2 and if the
Cards are shuffled after  every hand

To me the surprising thing is not that the Golden Gate is going to stop having live gaming in 2025, but that it is just about the only casino to do so, for now.  Don’t get me wrong, I will definitely miss the live tables and the interaction with the dealers and other players, but live tables require dealers who have to be paid, not to mention pit bosses to supervise them who also have to be paid.  Then you have to have work schedules and worry about what if a dealer or two is sick or on vacation and you have to have someone adjust the schedule.  Add to that the fact that  due to demographics you have fewer people in their 20’s to hire and a disproportionate number of baby boomer dealers and pit bosses who are about to retire.  I’m really surprised that the Golden Gate is the only casino so far to do this; I guess the casinos are afraid that the $25 and up per hand gamblers won’t use the machines, but this seems like such an easy way for the casinos to save on the cost of labor.

I certainly do miss the deal on the shrimp cocktail and lament its loss as much as the live table games. Probably more. But didn't this go away before Derek Stevens even bought the place? Time marvhes on.

Will miss the banter with other players on the craps table.  There is little to no conversation with the person beside you on a bubble craps machine or even the stadium style games.  There is almost always one person on the table that "entertains" the crowd. The loud cheers, etc, are basically gone and the whole vibe of a table full of players versus ETG is gone. This appears to be the way of the future as is evident by the current way everyone is looking at their phone all the time and not talking to anyone near.

It's now a slot joint with scantily clad women.  It's just missing beads and fried twinkies to make the transition complete!

As for myself..being an old fart...I love the social aspect of yelling at guys at the other end of the table..roll a hard 6!!..especially miss the 5 dollar craps tables :(. at least Ellis Island and apparently Palms still have them, but no where to be found in Reno nor Lake Tahoe :(

I will miss the banter with dealers and other players, have meet and made life long friends at live tables. If I want to play an electronic game will do so at home, save travel and room and food expenses.

Casino MonteLago in Lake Las Vegas (Henderson) closed in 2010, then reopened in 2011 with all ETGs.  They were state of the art but the casino didn't have the vibe of a real casino, and closed for the second and final time in 2013.

I know things change---you can gamble anywhere from your phone or computer---so we keep making it harder and harder for Vegas to be about the primary purpose of interacting with people/dealers/organizations and live gaming.  I get the $ part of it.  Brick and mortar and people is a big nut to cover....but without it, what is left?  AI can play itself.

And thus will continue to park at the Golden Gate but just walk through in search of 3/2 BJ with live dealers.

I gamble for enjoyment and the experience of interacting with people. If I wanted to play electronic games I would do so in the comfort of my own home on my computer. I for one will stop visiting Vegas and stop gambling if most casinos convert to ETGs. I understand the need for progress and it is inevitable. However, it's not for me.

 I have not and will not ever play one of those games. 

I've played them many times, but I just don't trust them.  A roulette ETG can be programmed to hit the numbers that cost the house the least, every roll.  An electronic blackjack can obviously be programmed to give the player a bust card or the dealer the perfect hit.  Electronic craps can come up seven any time the house wants.  I don't think there is nearly the level of control to guarantee a fair game, as any game that can be programmed can be programmed to go in any given direction.

The same applies to CSMs in blackjack.  It's a black box (literally), it can spew out any card the house wants if they're so inclined (although I've seen no evidence personally).  It can give the dealer a 5 on every 16 and me a ten on every 12, for all I can tell about how it works.

Call me paranoid, call me a dinosaur, but I prefer live games, where I know what odds I'm up against.

As far as I am concerned, the Golden Gate is no longer a real casino because of this change.  

I agree with everyone else. I can sit home and play online if I don't want any human interaction.

I think they suck. And electronic person has NO personality. Go play slots. You'll get an equal experience of NO personality. Even though you might still win money.

I used to love going to the Golden Gate. They had the best snack bar. I had to get the 99 cent shrimp cocktail. The mins at the table games were reasonable. It was just a homey place to visit. But, times change. Now, I walk by the Golden Gate but I no longer hang out there. 

The late, great Golden Gate has just joined the gouge. I'll remanence about the 99-cent shrimp cocktails, single-deck blackjack, low minimums and real apple juice cocktails. 

I predict it will close in a year or two.

RIP GG.
You're dead to me with this move.
I give it one year to either change or go titsup.

I was able to play blackjack a couple days before the table games closed and I got to use the match play coupon. When I got my blackjack to earn the 2-1 payout per the coupon you would have though it was the first time someone had used the coupon. From the dealer saying that I had to present the coupon before I bet (thinking it was a one hand win or lose thing) to not one, not 2 but THREE supervisors staring at it for like 1-2 minutes before giving me the correct payout. It was comical. It's funny how professional pit bosses look but when it comes to having to use logic or encounter something perhaps out of the ordinary they fold like a deck of cards and it's now the customer's responsibility to explain to them what needs to happen. It can almost be embarrassing but I was not going to NOT let the coupon be redeemed!  Thank you LVA!

I find myself enjoying the automated craps. No jerk struggling to get their last chip down ..no asshole firing a 20 dollar bill into the middle of the table while the dice are in the air .

Actually I prefer electronics on many levels. It can be fun if the right group of people are around you. But equally, it can also be some pain in the butt types, rude, loud, drunk, smoking right on top of me, or all of the above. 

And given people in my generation grew up on video games and those decades after, those who think the place will lose business, I think are not thinking of preferences beyond themselves. Businesses don't make decisions like this without a business reason. 

Anthony makes several good points, but I would point out that there already are a lot of casinos with no live games: Dotty’s, Jackpot Joanie’s, etc. 
Not a new concept.  In the past, Sassy Sally’s, Mermaids, etc (funny reference in the comments about beads & fried Twinkies).
Is that really the future of Vegas casinos? I find that hard to believe. 
Casinos trying to fully automate is not a new idea. There is a small niche for it, but I doubt that it’ll take over.
There might be a hybrid - stadium games are more popular than I’d like to see. One or two dealers dealing to 50 people in a stadium setting is creeping into casinos.

I think that Golden Gate’s  table games biggest problem was that they were often times deadspreads. Few if any players.
If you lose the live dealers, you’ll lose the atmosphere.
Instead of great comps from table games, you’ll wind up with fried Twinkies.

I don't trust these electronic games. I miss the interaction with other players. I will Probably never go back into the GG.

I agree that I just have reservations of playing on ETGs as, like Raymond wrote, they can be programmed to cause a player to lose, while with dealers and real cards you don't run that risk.

...they have lower limits. I can play craps with $2 or $3 on the pass line. I'm not worried about ETGs being "programmed" for players to lose. The house edge takes care of that without extra help. And the craps games use actual dice, and thus would be harder (or impossible) to "program." That said, I only play the craps ETGs, and I would not go into the GG just to play them. My biggest disappointment is the loss of the great GG coupons. I miss the deli something fierce, and also miss the great Dupar's that was there. I would often have both breakfast and lunch at the deli. 

Now I want a shrimp cocktail. Where is the best one under $10 in Las Vegas?

While it's true that you can make a line bet of only $3 or $5 minimum on the craps ETGs, you can also only take double odds.

I'll miss GG for the amiable dealers, and for the long-departed DuPar's.  Many was the time that my lunch or dinner was a 99-cent shrimp cocktail, a bowl of soup, and two slices of their fantastic pies.

Went there a few days before they pulled everything. 18 BJ table (or so) and I was the only one playing. Checked out of Circa and hour and a half later and walked thru GG to get an uber (instead of waiting down in the 120 degree garage mahal) and it was the same thing. Also played the day before at the D on a $15 table. Played two hours and only one person sat down next to me (and that was only for a couple hands). So point being, demand drives the number of tables, and between the GG, D and Circa they had to nuke some. 

I have more than enough electronic in my life. 

Table game pits are the driving force of energy on the casino floor. Without them and the sounds from the coin droppers, thr casino is a library

I think it is good that live dealers are being replaced. Not often, but sometimes have had dealers make errors, but with electronic it solves that issue. Do not have to play with other people at the table and can play at your own pace.