When Antonio Esfandiari first sat down at a PokerPro automated poker table, he was a little unsure about the technology."I was very hesitant at first, and then I sat down, and I was like 'Wow!' because it really feels like poker," Esfandiari said. "It's like a dream come true; it's so awesome. I think it's so much better for tournaments, especially." Esfandiari won a single table exhibition against the likes of Mike Sexton, Kenna James, Clonie Gowen and other professional players at the Aussie Poker Millions in January on the table, which combines the technology of Internet poker with live poker.
The PokerPro table offers a computerized Texas Hold'em game, with each player's seat in front of a touch screen that reveals hole cards and chip stacks. When it is a player's turn to act, that player is prompted to check, bet, raise or fold. Marketing statements claim that the tables average a 50 percent increase in hands per hour over traditional live tables, which pleases both players and card room management, and the table can run either a live cash game or a tournament.
PokerTek, the North Carolina-based company behind the technology, has been slowly building momentum for the past two years. While some poker rooms have utilized the technology for over a year, others are just signing on. Carnival Cruise Lines tried the table for the first time on one cruise ship in late April and it was such a success that the company signed a three-year contract to expand the deal to other ships.
"The cruise industry is just awesome for us," said Chris Manley, an Implementation Consultant with PokerTek. "It's a dream for these cruise ships, who have a captive audience. It makes a ton of money, and you don't have to keep the dealers working at the table."
Despite the recent growth, the news wasn't quite as cheery as PokerTek announced their results for the second quarter of 2006 on Thursday afternoon. The company finished the quarter with a loss of over $2.2 million ($0.24 per diluted share), but PokerTek CEO Lou White remained positive despite the numbers.
"While expenses were in line with our operating plan, we are behind our revenue target as it has taken us longer than expected to more broadly introduce the PokerPro system to the market, which is attributable in large part to regulatory delays," White said in a statement after announcing the results. "However, we are encouraged by many recent developments on the regulatory front, we are enthusiastic about our installation pipeline of announced and soon-to-be announced installations, and we are very proud of the progress that we continue to make toward our goals."
Part of that progress was taking place at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Gaming Life Expo. PokerTek's corner booth was one of the busiest exhibits as interested onlookers were invited to play turbo sit-and-go tournaments, with the winner getting a free T-shirt, hat or sweatshirt.
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