Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal joined with Atlantic City-area e-table supplier Dynamic Gaming Systems last month to launch “ShaqJack,” which the company says is the first live-dealer hybrid electronic table game to be introduced in the U.S.
The game, which beams live video of a dealer to electronic play stations located anywhere in a casino, was launched at the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in October. An elevated dealer platform is surrounded by 24 “ShaqJack Stations,” with voice-over by Shaq advising players to make their wagers and telling them when bets close. Players wager via ticket-in/ticket-out on individual terminals on the live game.
ShaqJack was developed over a four-year period by Dynamic Gaming Systems and O’Neal. “I wanted to find a way to make a casino game fun for everyone and find a way to bring Shaq’s unique brand of humor to the gaming floor,” said Dynamic Gaming CEO Charlie Barksdale when the game was launched.
“We clicked right away when we started talking about creating this game. We wanted a game that was familiar to everyone, even those with a modest appetite for gaming, but one that would still provide us with opportunities to bring new elements of excitement and rewards to the experience.”
O’Neill launched the game in an appearance at the casino October 4.