MOTO's Multi-Touch BlackJack Table Puts The Dealer Out Of Business

It's a computer, and as such is subject to the 'Garbage in-Garbage out' rule.

The casinos will have it singing their tunes before it ever makes it out onto the gaming floor.

I would never play this thing with earnest money.

Just for fun, yeah these things are cool and all, but to play with real money, you would have to be a blithering idiot. The whole reason people play table games is because there are a finite number of cards used when dealing, and when the cards are played, they go off to the side in black jack till like all the 7 decks are run through. In Texas Holdem, the cards are reshufled in a single deck after every hand. Letting a computer do it for you means that the casino will then dictate how often you will win for black jack.

Seems kinda dumb to let a computer that the casino controls, dictate when and how much you win.

Ehh, it's pretty easy to see someone else's cards on this.

Agree with realneil/Drago. I'd like the odds better on a manual blackjack table. Might as well just play the slots.

>> I would never play this thing with earnest money.

Totally agree. The more tech progresses, the better the house seems to do against the average Joe.

This seems like it has the advantage of slots (to the casinos, at least) of not requiring as much human tending, while still allowing those immensely popular table games.

Casinos are devoting more and more of their floor space to slots, which don't require sick time, benefits, raises, aren't unionized, and work 24 hours a day uncomplainingly. I imagine a pit of these would still require managers and bosses, but would both eliminate the dealer and speed up the game. In New Jersey's casinos, the idea of hiding cards isn't an issue; few games have secret information on the part of the players.

I'm of two minds when it comes to whether it's fair play or not. When you have a governing body, you have enough oversight that games are on the up-and-up. Do you imagine that a casino would give up their liscense to print money in order to cheat people out of their five dollar bets? Still, casinos don't introduce new games and new technologies for the love of games and tech; there always has to be a bottom line. That's why you're never going to see a game that has a lower house edge than (properly-played) blackjack or (properly-played) craps. Still, the amount saved on employees might be enough to invest in these without substantially changing the game rules and therefore the house edge, as with variants like Spanish 21 and Single-Deck 21 (which pays 1:1 on naturals). And the more bets per hour, the more the house edge-- however slight-- affects the players. Casinos love winners. They're good publicity, and they make their money in the (very) long run, as opposed to the short-run wins and losses of gamblers.

As some have mentioned, there will be distrust of these to begin with. I do gamble, but never online-- there's no oversight. A physical location and a state license works wonders for consumer confidence, though, as does an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Finally, though, we have to remember that the gaming industry makes car companies look radical when it comes to adopting new technologies. In many of he Atlantic City casinos, you still have to print out a comp (a voucher used to get free meals and other gifts through play) despite having a credit-card-like "comp card" which could potentially be used like a debit card. The Borgata started doing this a few years ago, but only recently has the Bally's chain instituted it. So, it'll be a long road before the MOTO multitouch actually puts the dealer out of business.