Parx Casino PA

has anyone been to Parx since table games opened? We're heading there with a group tonight after work and I'm curious as to what minimums to expect. I've heard some stories from the other Pa casinos about some ridiculously high minimums($100 and up at BJ, $50 and up at roulette). I'll post a review after we check it out tonight...just hope it's worth the trip.

I believe that they are installing only 80 tables to begin. They will add tables in December. For a casino that is doing well over $1 million a day in slot revenue, 80 tables is pretty small number.

I don't think any casino Vegas is doing a million a day in slot revenue.

I would expect really high minimums.

Got there around 5:30pm. They may be licensed for 80 tables like pacomartin said above, but there were definitely not 80 tables on the floor. I didn’t count, but based on my memory the breakdown was:

35-40 BJ tables
6 Three Card Poker Tables
4 Craps Tables
3 Mini Baccarat Tables
4 Rapid Roulette Wheels

BJ
$15 through $100 as the minimums. Dealer stands on soft 17. 3-2 on BJ. Asked about the rest of the rules, and none of the three dealers I asked knew and one pit boss said he would check and get back to me, but never did. All the $15’s and half of the $25’s were iTables where you buy in with cash and are given credit on a screen used for betting. The only time you get chips is when you cash out. I didn’t like this at all. It kind of takes you out of the game. Saw several people take hits they shouldn’t have that would have probably been questioned by a dealer but where automatic w/ the iTable(hitting a hard 18 against a 6, hitting a hard 19 against a 7…both were obvious accidents by the players basedon their reactions afterwards). Also, no grandfathering. By 6pm they were upping most of the tables to $25 and wouldn’t grandfather me after a half hour of play at $15. Dealers were a little slow and the new iTable made them even slow in some cases.

3 Card Poker
One $10 and the rest $15’s when I arrived. All iTables and all packed. 40/30/6/4/1 pay table although I’ve heard they had 40/30/6/3/1 on the weekend(advantage of the iTable I guess). Here’s my other problem w/ the iTable besides not handling chips. In three card once you lock in your bet and the dealers plays the hand, she touches your screen and your win is added or loss deducted. Not sure how it works, but the table knows what cards you had even though you’re dealt actual cards. Again, this takes a lot of the enjoyment out of the game. It’s the same on BJ…if you hit to a 23 and the dealer touches your screen it knows you busted.

Craps
One table at $15 and the others at $25. 3/4/5x odds. 2x on the 2/12 field bet. Dealers were a little slow on the payouts, two of the five that worked my table had to constantly check w/ the box before making many of the payouts. Players seemed a little inexperienced…constant dealer reminders to add or remove a dollar here or there from a bet.

Roulette
Didn’t sit, but they were all $15 tables.

Mini Baccarat
Didn’t sit, but all were $25

Slots/VP
Not my thing, but from what I saw the pay tables were crappy and this place has been notoriously tight since it opened in the Phildelphia Park Racetreack building a few years ago.

Dealers
Overall a little inexperienced, but they were all polite and pleasant and fixed any mistakes quickly. They all seemed to be constantly looking over their shoulders for approval which slowed things down a bit.

Players Card
The old Philly Park card works in all machines and if you give it at a table they’ll convert to a new Parx card for you. My limited play earned me nothing and at 5 tables I sat at I only saw one other person hand over a card. Just like the notoriously tight slots, they’re supposedly very stingy w/comps. Valet parking was free but I was told its $5-$15 on the weekend depending on how busy it is. Players card will always get you free valet.

Overall
The place was very nice inside, albeit incredibly smoky after only a week of being open. Drink service was good with the hottest waitresses I’ve seen in any casino including all the high end Vegas places. Restaurants options were limited to a ridiculously priced steakhouse or a quick counter service grill(horrible cheesesteak and fries). Chickies and Petes(local Philly chain) will be opening soon. Minimums were a little high for my normal $5 craps, $10 BJ/3 card budget but I played because I was there and lost about $200 over 3 hours. I just don’t see this area being able to maintain the table limits of a Wynn/Bellagio once the initial novelty wears off. They’re supposedly already seeking permission for more table games and they do appear to have the space. Hopefully we’ll see some lower minimums once they expand again, but I probably won’t be back until then.

PARX is pushing way out in front of the other PA casinos. It pulled in over $36 million in slot revenue in July. It could shortly end up taking in more revenue than the largest of any Nevada casino. Current record holder is combined Wynn/Encore or Venetian/Palazzo.

Map of PA casinos

It's been open since the winter, and yes, it is pretty smoky. But you are right about the waitresses. I'd still like to know if that whole section next to the club/bar is electronic table games, or did they pull any or all of them out...

The e-Games were still there. $10 3CP, $5/$10/$25 BJ and Roulette which is multi-denom on the same machine. Probably 15 stations between 3 card and BJ and maybe 15 more roulette machines.

Quote: rJz

The e-Games were still there. $10 3CP, $5/$10/$25 BJ and Roulette which is multi-denom on the same machine. Probably 15 stations between 3 card and BJ and maybe 15 more roulette machines.

Tradition suggested I go to the Pennsylvania Derby today, so I was at Parx and the renamed "Parx East" (that's what they call the racetrack and simulcast area now...that was the place that housed EVERYTHING from 2006 till the beginning of this year.) The Parx East is actually very nicely done now. If you like Racing/Simulcasting, you'd enjoy it. It's nice because they had all the space that the casino/slots had taken up.

But I was finally able to find out that they took none of the Electronic Table games away, and they added a couple of Ultimate Texas Hold Em. There are still about 40 Bally roulette machines, and the ironic thing? They are all single Zero. Yet people are playing over at the "Table" games and doubling the house edge.

Quote: rJz

Got there around 5:30pm. They may be licensed for 80 tables like pacomartin said above, but there were definitely not 80 tables on the floor. I didn’t count, but based on my memory the breakdown was:

35-40 BJ tables
6 Three Card Poker Tables
4 Craps Tables
3 Mini Baccarat Tables
4 Rapid Roulette Wheels

The monthly report said in July that they opened
Banking Tables 48
Electronic Tables 9

A "banking table" is a traditional non-poker table (play against the bank vs. against another player).

I am not sure what the Electronic tables are, but they would certainly include "rapid roulette". It sounds like the "three card poker" tables uses an electronic system.

There are no "electronic tables" listed for any other casino in Pennsylvania.

Quote: pacomartin

The monthly report said in July that they opened
Banking Tables 48
Electronic Tables 9

A "banking table" is a traditional non-poker table (play against the bank vs. against another player).

I am not sure what the Electronic tables are, but they would certainly include "rapid roulette". It sounds like the "three card poker" tables uses an electronic system.

There are no "electronic tables" listed for any other casino in Pennsylvania.

There were no other "Electronic Tables" listed as OPENING, or at all? Because as we said, Parx still has a bunch of Electronic Table games (Shufflemaster), as do many other PA Casinos.

Quote: cclub79

There were no other "Electronic Tables" listed as OPENING, or at all? Because as we said, Parx still has a bunch of Electronic Table games (Shufflemaster), as do many other PA Casinos.

I think that most of the Shufflemaster games (like the blackjack game with the video dealers) are classified as slot machines. The reason is that every player is being dealt from a different 6 deck shoe. So there is no real effect of one player on the next. The fact that six of you are sitting at a table is entirely an illusion.

Rapid roulette is an electronic table because the outcome all depends on the result of a single ball.

The website does not list approved games for each facility.