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Philadelphia casinos offer players more gaming choices

Posted on July 21st, 2010

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Philadelphia casinos are on a good roll adding new interactive and dealer-staffed table games that are fast becoming tourist attractions, encouraging more people to stay in their hometown state, keeping business at home. Parx Casino in Bensalem, Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem and Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack in Delaware County has now joined the ranks of casinos that have table games included in them, all to the likely weakening of an already struggling gambling industry in nearby Atlantic City. “This is just so much closer; It’s more interactive. There’s more of a human element,” These are the comments of players like John McKenna of Northeast Philadelphia, who is enjoying the recent addition in Parx. He says he hasn’t played in the Atlantic City in a couple of years.

Another player, 32 year old Tony Volpe of Upper Darby is even more direct in saying that he prefers playing inside the state rather than driving outside. “On the Blue Route, I’m here in five minutes” he said while playing on packed poker room at Harrah’s Chester. “There’s absolutely no reason to go to Atlantic City to gamble anymore,” when I drive down to A.C., I’m already $60 in the hole between the gas and tolls,” he adds. 3 Western Pennsylvania casinos offered table games last July 8. 3 other Central Pennsylvania casinos followed suit on Tuesday. These are the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Hollywood Casino near Harrisburg and Mount Airy Resort Casino in the Poconos. SugarHouse on the Philadelphia waterfront is expected to be launched on September 2010 featuring 1,602 slot machines and 40 table games. With all these new game offerings, Philadelphia casinos are experiencing a boost on business.

President of Sands Casino in Bethlehem Robert J De Salvio said that all of the casino’s 89 tables were filled by 11:30 am Sunday morning. The casino opens at 8 am. The slots machine’s performance are also up by 19% compared to any normal Sunday. Harrah’s Chester also lists a 40% increase in business early last Sunday according to Vice President Robert Guidice. He details that by 2:3 in the afternoon 59 tables out of all 74 are filled and all 25 tables in the World Series of Poker Room are packed. In less than 4 hours later, 62 live tables are fully seated.

Parx casino’s 57 table games are all occupied by mid afternoon. The casino offers three-card poker, craps, roulette, blackjack, and mini-baccarat tables. The casino is set to open a 30 table poker room in the coming fall. For the casino, these table games tremendously help to maintain it’s status as one of the forerunners in the casino industry of the state. Parx opened last December 2006 and has since been the state’s top grossing casino. Even surrounding local businesses benefit from being close to the casino.

However, not everyone from the state seem to be pleased with the success of these casinos. Casino-Free Philadelphia is a local activist group that argues around the effects of these facilities to the state’s local industry. Attorney Paul Boni, representing the group said that more than $380 million is being extracted from the local economy by gamblers living nearby. “The job creation argument is a canard, by preying on the local population,convenience casinos result in a net loss of jobs,” Boni said. Philadelphia casinos Parx and Harrah’s Chester already had that effect on the gaming industry of Atlantic City.

Atlantic city has experienced a weakening in its gaming industry ever since slot machines were introduced in Pennsylvania over 3 years ago. Revenues were down for 8.4 percent for AC , amounting only to $1.8 billion down for the first half of 2010. James Fogarty, Deputy Attorney General of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement declared that Atlantic city stands to loose “About $240 million a year in revenues. About one-third of the resort’s [table game] revenues,” from casinos in Pennsylvania. Some players are still up to playing outside the city, other are not as optimistic. Antonio Kouirinis of Jersey City said “I would consider it, we love to travel and try different things. Competition could be good, It might force Atlantic City to do some things, like have more stuff for kids to do.” Antonio was with his wife Melissa

Liz Cetrano, resident of Mays Landing and former Atlantic city casino cook saw the other end of the spectrum. “I think the city is going to starve, Gamblers aren’t going to come here anymore. They are going to gamble in their own backyards.”