Check out PA’s Games and Gambling in the CASINO Edition

Not long ago, the only legal gambling in PA was the state lottery. Wow, has that changed. Pennsylvania now has 12 casinos providing billions in tax revenue every year and that number is growing. Atlantic City is dead and for millions of people on the East Coast, flying to Vegas is a bit much. PA Casinos welcome you.

Sometime around 2005, Pennsylvania made casinos legal. Since then, we are 2nd only to Nevada in casino revenue. Las Vegas has 100+, but new laws will give PA 22 casinos in the next few years. We’re not Vegas, Atlantic City or a Native American Reservation, so all this might make you say: “That’s from PA?”

Harrah’s

Technically in Chester, PA – Harrah’s Philadelphia uses Philly in their name because it’s close enough. They offer 100,000 sqft of gaming space including nearly 3000 slot machines. There is also a 14,000 sqft event center, 6 restaurants, 2 bars, and shops. Like many other PA casinos, Harrah’s has a horse racing track – specifically a 1km limestone base that crosses the Delaware River.

Hollywood

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course is located in Grantville, near the state capital. It is, of course, movie themed with 2,500 slots and table games including: poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, pai-gow, and mini-baccarat. Restaurants include the Final Cut Steak House and Epic Buffet. The horse track is one mile long and is one of the only places in the country that runs races 52 weeks a year.

Lady Luck

South of Pittsburgh is a town called Farmington, and that is where you will find Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. The casino offers about 600 slots machines and 30 table games, but they don’t stop there. The resort also has two golf courses, adventure sports, numerous bars and restaurants, hotels and a chateau. They spared no expense – except for their doofy fatbird logo. I can’t believe they paid for that thing.

The Meadows

The Meadows Casino is in Washington, PA – also just south of Pittsburgh. At 350,000 sqft, they offer over 3,300 slot machines, a hotel, seven restaurants and a 24-lane bowling facility. Like Hollywood, The Meadows also has a horse racing track that operates 200 races all year long.

Mohegan Sun

Another hotel, casino and racetrack all in one, Mohegan Sun Pocono is just outside of Wilkes-Barre. 82,000 sqft of gaming space includes over 2,300 slot machines and table games like poker, blackjack and roulette. The hotel has 238 rooms and restaurants include a Johnny Rockets, Ruth’s Chris and Wolfgang Puck’s.

Mount Airy

How about something even more fancy? Mount Airy Casino Resort at Mt. Pocono is one of the 4 Diamond Casino Resorts in PA. 62,000 sqft of gaming space offers 1,800 slot machines and table games. There are 188 hotel suites, four restaurants (including noodle and sushi bars, a buffet and a Guy Fieri’s), spa, salon, nightclub, and 18-hole golf course.

Parx

The largest casino in PA, and the one with the most stupid name, Parx is located in Bensalem – which might as well be Philadelphia. It takes 200,000 square feet to bring you 3,500 slot machines, 140 table games for roulette and blackjack, and 60 poker tables. Parx also offers 13 bars and restaurants and a one mile horse racing track. Seriously, someone, somewhere is very proud of themselves for coming up with that name – and they really shouldn’t be.

Presque Isle

Another PA casino that started as (and still offers) a horse racing track, Presque Isle Downs is located in Erie. 1,700 slot machines and table games cover 48,074 sqft of gaming space and the track is one mile long. It is the first synthetic horse track in the Northeast and the first paved with Tapeta in the whole country.

Rivers

Pittsburgh’s waterfront Rivers Casino may not have a super-creative name, but it is one of the few in the state specifically built to be a casino, not on top of something else. Rivers offers 3,000 slots machines and over 100 game tables. There are five restaurants, four bars, a nightclub, and a 1000 seat amphitheater.

Wind Creek (Sands)

Since this was originally written in 2018, Sands has been sold and re-named Wind Creek. If I suggested opening a casino resort on the site of a Bethlehem SteelWorks industrial plant, that would sound pretty crappy, right? That’s just what Sands did in the Lehigh Valley and it’s a 4 Diamond Casino Resort. 139,000 sqft of game space offers over 3,000 slot machines and 200 game tables. The hotel has 302 rooms, there are several restaurants, and 133,000 sqft of shopping mall. (Wind Creek has hundreds of millions of dollars in additions planned, so I will have to re-visit this entry).

Sugar House

You just can’t have enough casinos near Philadelphia. SugarHouse Casino is a complex of 1.3 million sqft featuring over 3,000 slot machines (seems to be the PA average) and table games on a 45,000 sqft game floor, retail shopping and seven restaurants (including a Geno’s – cheeseteaks baby!). Located along the Delaware River, SugarHouse is one of the few without a racetrack.

Valley Forge

George Washington should see it now. Valley Forge Casino Resort has 40,000 sqft of game floor offering 600 slot machines and 50 game tables. The 2 hotels have 486 rooms, 100,000 sqft convention center and 3000 vehicle parking lot with free valet. There are six restuarants offering Asian, Italian and American. Night life includes several bars, a nightclub and a pool with beach club. PA: yeah, we have casinos.