Well, here in Las Vegas you can play live poker again. Only a few rooms are open and you’ll be playing either five or (if plexiglass separators are used) six-handed.
I’ve played a couple of times at The Bellagio where the games are six-handed and so far so good. Of course, it’s not perfect. Those of you who only want to play in full games will be disappointed, but currently this is the best that can be done.
Playing with the plexiglass separators is a little different. First, you have more room which is nice. Second, it’s a little difficult to hear the person sitting next to you which is also nice if it’s someone that you don’t want to talk too but not so nice if you want to have a conversation. As for masks, they’re fairly strict when it comes to putting your mask on and keeping it on, but you can still order something to drink and it is okay to lift up your mask to drink.
There are three other rules which you must follow. First, the chip runner won’t get your chips; you must buy them yourself. I actually like this rule since the dealers are not constantly calling for a fill after they sell the chips to a new player, and I hope this rule stays in force for a long time (but I assume the brushes and chip runners will want to get back to buying chips for the players since they make tips from doing this, and that’s also okay).
The second rule is that when waiting for a game, you can’t wait in the poker room. For me, I’ve sat down in the sports book and waited there and have not had any trouble in hearing my name called. But you do need to listen closely.
Third, before you can actually take a seat the area inside the plexiglass gets a quick cleaning with disinfectant. This is also true if you’re in a game, someone quits, and you want to take the newly vacant seat. Now the brush will not only clean the newly vacant seat but your former seat as well, and you can’t move until the seat that you want to move to is cleaned. Also, when a new dealer comes to the game, he’ll clean (with disinfectant) the area that he occupies. This includes the drop box and the automatic card shuffler. But this is usually done quickly so it’s not a big hold up to the game.
So, that’s a quick run down of what it’s like to play live poker in Las Vegas, especially at the Bellagio. And the final consensus is that all of this works, and, of course, being able to play poker again is a whole lot better than not playing.
