Golden Gate permanently closed its live table games on September 7, 2025. It was announced weeks in advance. Electronic table games will replace the pit due to the economics of live gaming today. Vegas Advantage was there for the last hours of Golden Gate’s pit.
It was our understanding that the tables would close at 6:30pm. Kristina decided to stay home since it would not be a late night. She does not play at tables often.
I arrived around 4:45pm. The pit was nearly dead. It had about five players. I sat at an idle $15 blackjack table and played the dealer heads-up. I lost $200 quickly and bought in for another $100, hoping to make it to 6:30pm without a big loss.
By 6pm, the table had several players. This helped slow the game down. Around 6:30pm, players were told the tables would remain open until about 10pm. At that point, I let Kristina know I would be late. She took a rideshare to Golden Gate to meet me.
During all this, I had the pleasure of meeting Derek and Nicole Stevens, co-owners of Golden Gate, Circa, and The D. While I had talked with Derek many times over the years, we never met. We all spoke for 10 or 15 minutes. Kristina met them and talked longer after she arrived. We also met two other casino executives who were there for the table game closure.
While we were talking to Golden Gate executives, the player next to my seat spilled his drink all over the table and cards. That forced the table to close two seats. The player who spilled the drink left. It worked out well because Kristina was able to sit at the table with me in the closed seat.
My blackjack heater hit
At this point, I was about even. Golden Gate was giving players two $25 match play tickets. A Twitter follower gave me a 2/1 blackjack coupon from the Las Vegas Advisor coupon book. This helped get me above water for the first time since sitting down at the table.
About 9:30pm, players were no longer allowed to buy into the game. Everyone else busted quickly. Around 9:50pm, the pit supervisor said we were on our last shoe. Five minutes later, the table was shut down before the shoe finished.
I caught a heater in the last few minutes. By the end, I had $675 after tipping dealers and cocktail servers. It was my first blackjack session in years.
The pit tables closed one by one. The last game was dealt in the high-limit area at a $100 minimum bet table.
The pit was quickly disassembled. We went to Binion’s Cafe for a late meal. When we returned, all the chip trays were missing. A roulette wheel was being wheeled into a service area.
We were told the tables would be removed in the middle of the night. I returned around 9:30am Monday. The pit was completely empty. Workers were already preparing the floor for the new electronic table game pit. Here is a tour:
The electronic table game pit is expected to reopen around September 19. Starting on that date, Golden Gate will have a free happy hour from 6pm to 7pm daily.
