Golden Gate in Vegas Replacing All Live Table Games with Electronic Games

• The Golden Gate in downtown Vegas is removing all of its live table games and dealers
• The games will be replaced with electronic gaming versions throughout the property

The Golden Gate is removing all its live table games and their dealers, and replacing them with electronic substitutes. Circa Hospitality Group, which owns the downtown Las Vegas casino, confirmed the news with Casino.org’s own Vital Vegas blog this weekend.

According to a statement emailed to Vital Vegas from Circa Hospitality Group, the Golden Gate is “reimagining our casino floor with a high-energy electronic table games pit unlike anything downtown has seen.”

One of the primary duties of publicists is to spin bad news as good news.

“Expect more excitement, faster gameplay, and all the newest machines,” the statement continued.

Most casinos now include electronic games in their mix, but the only Las Vegas casino known to have entirely replaced live table games with them before this is Casino Royale.

“As expressed previously, the demand for live table games is declining while the cost of operating table games is rising,” Vital Vegas explained, though he admitted not seeing the Golden Gate news coming.

According to the owners’ statement, no Golden Gate table games dealers will lose their jobs due to the move, as all will either be offered roles at Circa or the D, or “the opportunity to explore new departments within the company.”

This is the appropriate place to mention that the Golden Gate is the only casino in Las Vegas offering dancing table games dealers.

The idea [that] an iconic, old-school casino will be without live table games rejiggers one’s reality and understanding of what casinos are, and what they will be moving forward,” Vital Vegas wrote.

Other observers were more bitter than stunned.

“Golden Gate with live tables feels like Sinatra without the suit,” @CharleneLoveLVV posted on X.

“Sad to hear this,” commented a user beneath Vital Vegas’ post announcing the change. “Hopefully they will not continue to market Golden Gate as ‘old Vegas.’ That would be an insult to all of us.”

Derek Stevens, who owns Circa Hospitality Group with his brother, Greg Stevens, offered the following statement to Vital Vegas explaining the move …

We still get people who ask me if we are going to bring back deep-fried Twinkies,” he wrote. “My response has never changed: we’re thinking about it. Eventually, people move on, particularly if you give them a great product. With what we are doing at Golden Gate, we have the ability to be a leader and create one of the coolest vibes in Vegas.”

Some people may regard this news as even more disconcerting because the Golden Gate is the oldest casino in Las Vegas, but that’s a myth.