Lightning Poker Awarded U.S. Patent

Lightning Poker announced today that it has been awarded a U.S. patent for its automated poker table.  Patent 7,306,516, entitled "Electronic Game Table," is specifically for automated poker tables with a center screen that displays community cards and betting information for all players to see.   

"We are very pleased to see another of our patents issued from our portfolio of pending applications," said Brian Haveson, CEO of Lightning Gaming, the parent company of Lightning Poker. "This patent protects a critical feature of our automated poker tables, the center monitor, which is a key component to the player experience." 

Both Lightning Poker and its rival, PokerTek, make these computerized tables, which, in a sense, merge live and online poker.  As all pot calculations, shuffles, and deals are performed by a computer rather than a real dealer, no mistakes are made and the game goes faster, allowing players to see more hands per session.  At the same time, however, players can still interact with each other, keeping the social aspect of the game intact. 

Lightning Poker has installed tables at Turning Stone Casino in New York and Commerce Casino in California, as well as many other locations.