Slide Hustle: South Point Poker Experiments with New(ish) Dealer Method to Prevent Cheating

_{South Point Hotel and Casino has introduced slide dealing in its poker room, a method already common in Europe. (Screenshot: Anne Larson / Facebook)}

LAS VEGAS – The South Point Hotel and Casino introduced a major change to how players receive hands in their poker room. Some dealers are now using the slide deal method to distribute cards, rather than pitching them.

With slide dealing, a dealer removes the top card from the deck and slides it across the felt to players instead of the standard “pitching” method, which requires a dealer to toss cards toward the player, usually a few inches off the felt.

Allen Kessler shared a video of the method in action that caught my attention:

It’s also commonly known as “European dealing,” or the “Euro-slide,” as European cardrooms — particularly in the UK — apparently have trained dealers this way for decades. It only recently became a standardized mandate across European tournament circuits (like the EPT) in 2024 and 2025.

South Point Poker Room Manager Jason Sanborn explained to Casinos.com that the style shift really is a matter of security.

“After seeing so much discussion online about game protection and the advent of AI and Meta Glasses, cameras, and hearing devices,” Sanborn said, “it made me think about what we can do as operators to provide the best protection to the game possible.”

Sanborn said that game protection as it relates to smart devices has been a point of major discussion in the industry, so he thought it was time for his poker room to be proactive to protect players from smart glasses, hidden cameras, and other technology that makes cheating easier.

While some poker rooms have banned Meta glasses and other devices at the table, Sanborn didn’t want his dealers to have to be device police.

“I don't think it is reasonable to ban electronics at the table,” Sanborn said. “Going to the slide pitch provides the best protection against exposed cards that we can currently do as operators.”

Players Have Mixed Reviews

Not everyone agrees about whether or not slide dealing actually solves a problem, or if it just slows down the game.

Kessler, a tournament pro and mixed-game enthusiast with over $4.9 million in live earnings, is a big advocate for the slide. He says he likes that the cards are face down with less chance of being flashed or flipped over, and he likes knowing that electronic devices can’t be scanning for unintentional card exposure.

“Certain seats used to have an edge spotting cards depending on how sloppy the dealer was,” Kessler said. “[I believe] this will be the standard in the next year or so.”

Sanborn agrees with this sentiment. Slide dealing may still be new in Las Vegas, but he's confident it won't stay a novelty for long.

“Within a few years, nearly every casino that cares about game protection will switch to this method,” Sanborn said.

Matt Kelley, a mixed game specialist who’s been playing poker in casinos for more than two decades, says that slide dealing has speed restrictions because of the way that the dealer has to handle the cards.

“Slide dealing has to have a higher ceiling on how fast a good dealer can deal,” Kelley explained, “because the contact between the card and the hand is so brief, as opposed to using 2 or 3 fingers to handle the cards on each pitch,” Kelley explained.

Sanborn has heard the speed criticism before.

“Many people see it as slower because they are comparing dealers that have been pitching for years against people that are just trying the skill out,” he said. “Not everyone can pitch fast. But over time, I believe we will actually see an increase in hands per hour.”

A Dealer Weighs In

Dominic Seibert, a longtime WSOP dealer and 2022 WSOP Dealer of the Year, told Casinos.com he is skeptical of slide dealing’s promise.

“Cheaters are going to innovate just like companies do,” he said. “And dealers who are properly trained know how to pitch down so cards aren't seen.”

However, he’s not totally opposed to it either.

“I wouldn't suggest making a career dealer change their pitch,” Kelley said. “But as far as teaching new dealers and those willing to change, it's the superior method.”

Sanborn said Las Vegas dealer schools are starting to teach the slide, and telling him that new students learn it much faster than the pitch.

“Like any new skill, it takes time to master,” Sanborn said. “I believe this is the better way.”