Live Dealer games have been nothing short of a boon for Golden Nugget Casino. Since launching in August 2016, the format — exclusive in New Jersey to Golden Nugget and online gambling partner Betfair Casino — has grown by leaps and bounds, evidenced by several expansions to the product.
Yet, to date Golden Nugget has played it pretty safe, opting for very traditional games and formats. That all changed this week when the operator introduced the rarely seen Live Casino Floor Roulette game.
A true marriage of online and live
Live Casino Floor Roulette is one of the industry’s most intimate attempt thus far to bridge the gap between online NJ casino apps and live. As the name of the format implies, players bet on games that are taking place in real-time on the casino floor of the land-based Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City.
The game is streamed from an overhead camera that zooms in on the roulette wheel as it reaches its final destination, making for a very immersive experience. Online patrons can observe real players as they place bets, celebrate wins, and mourn losses. They can also watch dealers as they count out winnings, swipe chips off the table, and spin the wheel.
In other words this is about as live as Live Dealer gets.
The online advantage
Players who wager on Live Casino Floor Roulette have several distinct advantages over their table partners in Atlantic City. For one, the table minimum is set much lower online, just $1 a spin.
There is also a convenience factor associated with online play. Online gamblers won’t find themselves jumping over other players to get a bet down. Instead, they’ll simply place their bets on a virtual felt located in the right-hand portion of the screen.
Winnings are paid out immediately after the winning number has been determined, and players can rebet or double their previous bet at the click of a mouse.
For those who care not to listen to the hustle and bustle of the casino floor, they can simply lower the volume. There is also options to view statistics, and change the video streaming quality.
Live Dealer Casino Floor Roulette runs from 2 pm to 3 am from Monday through Wednesday, 12 pm to 3 am from Thursday through Sunday, and is accessible via either the site’s browser-based client, or Android and iOS powered smartphone devices (but not tablets).
Not without its drawbacks
While overall a fine addition to Golden Nugget’s Live Dealer library — and one that should resonate with gamblers skeptical of online play — Live Casino Floor Roulette isn’t for everyone.
For one, the pace of play is considerably slower than it is for traditional Live Dealer Roulette. That might be a plus for some, but it can be a little exhausting to wait up to several minutes for scurrying casino patrons to place their wagers.
Players cannot interact with the dealer as they can in traditional Live Dealer Roulette games, nor does it seem they can chat with one another.
Also, they’ll be playing the American version of the game, which means the wheel will have both a single- and double-zero, increasing the house edge to 5.26%. Traditional Live Dealer Roulette also features wheels with a double-zero, although there are several digital roulette games on Golden Nugget Casino where only a single-zero is present, reducing the edge to a scant 2.7%.
