My first memories of live casino poker resided in the little poker room at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. Playing 1-5 Stud with long time Vegas locals playing only premium hands, the drunk looking bored with the flow of drinks coming in a little slower then he'd like, and me tossing my first $100 into the game that I have grown to love. Later, it would be the sight of poker blogger hijinxs after their yearly tournament to storm the castle and take a few pots from unsuspecting players.

Those days of live poker coming to an end, perhaps a good thing for the older room to gather new life. PokerTek is bring their automated poker tables into the room starting this Friday, August 22nd. As a primarily online player, I do enjoy the quickness of these machines, but it takes away some of the little things of the game like not being able to riffle chips while deciding to call with third pair on the river.

Here's the press release:

POKERTEK INSTALLS POKERPRO AT EXCALIBUR HOTEL AND CASINO IN LAS VEGAS Matthews, NC - August 18, 2008: PokerTek, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEK), the industry pioneer and worldwide leader in automated poker tables and related software, is pleased to announce that Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is installing 12 PokerPro tables. Excalibur is both the first casino in Nevada to install automated poker tables and the official field trial site for PokerPro in the state. Pending final regulatory inspection and approval, Excalibur plans to open the new room Friday, August 22 at 6 p.m. "We are delighted beyond words that an operator of Excalibur's quality is opening a 100% PokerPro poker room on the strip. It is commentary on how far PokerTek and automated poker have come in such a short time," said PokerTek's CEO Chris Halligan. "The acceptance of the game has grown substantially in the last year and continues to grow as our footprint expands." "We continue to hit major milestones," continues Halligan. "We've opened a successful 20-plus table room in Montreal, a beautiful 12 table room in Michigan, a high-end 12-table room in Atlantic City and now 12 tables in the gaming hub of the world, Las Vegas. With more than 230 PokerPro tables currently installed worldwide, we are ready for the Nevada market." "I've run poker rooms for 20 years, and I can't wait for players to see what Excalibur and PokerPro will offer them," said Vito Casucci, PokerTek's Western Regional Director and former poker room manager. "We're going to have a great daily tournament schedule, tremendous player promotions and, more than that, we'll be laying down games that manual rooms just can't. For example, our Pot Limit Omaha games will be getting out 30 hands per hour. That is unheard of for a game as popular as PLO, and only PokerPro can offer that kind of speed." "I am so excited that automated poker is finally going to exist in Vegas," said professional poker player Clonie Gowen. "PokerPro is an amazing way to play the game. The speed and accuracy beats any manual table. You will find me in the Excalibur's poker room from time to time and I challenge all poker players to try this." Excalibur Hotel and Casino, which opened in 1990, is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE™ (NYSE: MGM). The property provides an inviting atmosphere of hospitality through a myriad of entertainment, fine food and comfortable accommodations. The resort features 3,981 guest rooms, five themed restaurants, the Tournament of Kings Dinner Show, the all-male revue Thunder From Down Under, the "Larger than Life" comedy of Louie Anderson and more than 100,000 square feet of gaming excitement. The convention area provides more than 12,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space." About PokerTek, Inc. PokerTek™, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEK), headquartered in Matthews, NC, develops and markets PokerPro automated poker tables and related software applications developed to increase casino revenue, reduce expenses and attract new players into poker rooms. PokerTek entered the amusement space by introducing Heads-Up Challenge™, a heads-up poker table for bars and restaurants that targets adults who play for amusement only. PokerPro tables are located in the United States, Canada, Panama, Germany, Bulgaria, Australia, South Africa and several major cruise lines. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.pokertek.com or contact Tracy Egan at 704.849.0860 x106. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are made in accordance with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements herein include, but are not limited to, the expected adoption of the PokerPro systems by casinos and other customers and the expected acceptance of the PokerPro systems by players. Our actual results may differ materially from those implied in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including, but not limited to, overall industry environment, customer acceptance of our products, delay in the introduction of new products, further approvals of regulatory authorities, adverse court rulings, production and/or quality control problems, the denial, suspension or revocation of permits or licenses by regulatory or governmental authorities, termination or non-renewal of customer contracts, competitive pressures and general economic conditions, and our financial condition. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in more detail in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur, except as required by applicable laws, and you are urged to review and consider disclosures that we make in the reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission that discuss other factors germane to our business.