Valley Forge Casino Resort
June 14th, 2012 at 3:53:06 PM
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Anyone been to Valley Forge Casino in PA? I'll be up there this weekend to get my souvenir $5 chip...I'm guessing there's nothing too spectacular about it and the table mins will be in line with anywhere else in PA (translated: $15 on up for most games, $10 for 3-4-5X odds on craps), but I figured it's worth a look...I know about the entry fee, I plan on eating at one of the restaurants anyway for lunch so it won't be an issue.
June 14th, 2012 at 7:10:53 PM
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So you are willing to pay $10 for a $5 chip? lol They also offer a 90 day membership for $20, which could be of value if you are planning on attending several times over 90 day period.
Valley forge is actually quite small compared to other casino's in Phila area (parx, harrahs-chester, sands-bethleham and even Sugarhouse, which is also too small for the area it serves). One strange thing about Valley Forge is they have a disproportional high number of table games for it's small space. This is good if you are a table game player, bad for machine players as they really only have a few hundred machines.
I play blackjack for a living, so I was mainly interested in their blackjack games. They have great blackjack rules, S17, surrender. All Pa casinos are mandated by Pa law as far as rules go, but what can vary is penetration. This is only important if you are a card counter. I played 5 Phila area casinos a total of 30 times during my 2 week stay and the funny thing is I was backed off (told no more blackjack) at only one casino, Valley Forge, during my last day. At other properties, I didn't even notice much heat.
Valley forge is actually quite small compared to other casino's in Phila area (parx, harrahs-chester, sands-bethleham and even Sugarhouse, which is also too small for the area it serves). One strange thing about Valley Forge is they have a disproportional high number of table games for it's small space. This is good if you are a table game player, bad for machine players as they really only have a few hundred machines.
I play blackjack for a living, so I was mainly interested in their blackjack games. They have great blackjack rules, S17, surrender. All Pa casinos are mandated by Pa law as far as rules go, but what can vary is penetration. This is only important if you are a card counter. I played 5 Phila area casinos a total of 30 times during my 2 week stay and the funny thing is I was backed off (told no more blackjack) at only one casino, Valley Forge, during my last day. At other properties, I didn't even notice much heat.
June 14th, 2012 at 8:03:47 PM
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I suspect that Silversonic2006 will pay $5 for the chip, adjusted by however much he wins or loses at the table. I expect to do the same thing when I visit there next month, except I will be picking up a $1 chip.Quote: kewljSo you are willing to pay $10 for a $5 chip? lol
The $10 spent to gain admission goes for the meal that would be purchased anyway, rather than paying an admission/membership fee. The way I see it, it will take me from early morning until supper time to drive there from my home. I'll eat supper, play a few minutes, get my souvenir, then drive almost another two hours to my destination in New Jersey.
On a slightly-related note about another casino, does anyone know anything about plans to get chips that say Harrah's "Philadelphia"? I think I've asked that before, but I don't remember getting a reply. I know where to check the NGCB documents to see what new chips have been approved for casinos in Nevada, but I don't know where to get the same info for PA or NJ.
June 14th, 2012 at 8:43:13 PM
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Quote: DocI suspect that Silversonic2006 will pay $5 for the chip, adjusted by however much he wins or loses at the table. I expect to do the same thing when I visit there next month, except I will be picking up a $1 chip. The $10 spent to gain admission goes for the meal that would be purchased anyway, rather than paying an admission/membership fee.
Exactly. I'm not just headed up that way for the casino, so I figured I'd pop in for lunch, get my chip, maybe play a bit ($100 budget) if the limits are reasonable ($10 blackjack/craps) and continue on to my destination. I'll be in Vegas soon anyway, so I'd rather save my money for there.
I don't collect $25 chips but if I did, I'd have to pick up one from VF. Definitely one of the more exquisite looking $25 chips I've seen lately. Their $1000 is really bland looking for such a high value (check the casino tab on their web page). I think Parx's $1000 chip was also really plain, with 4 very thin purple spots, unless there was some other color I couldn't see from far away. Anyone know of a pic of a Parx $1000 floating around?
June 16th, 2012 at 12:31:16 AM
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Quote: kewljValley forge is actually quite small compared to other casino's in Phila area (parx, harrahs-chester, sands-bethleham and even Sugarhouse, which is also too small for the area it serves). One strange thing about Valley Forge is they have a disproportional high number of table games for it's small space. This is good if you are a table game player, bad for machine players as they really only have a few hundred machines.
The PA law that authorized the mini-casino limited them to 600 slots. So the 50 tables seems disproportionately large. Sugarhouse has only 54 tables and 1600 slots. Valley Forge may end up collecting the same revenue on slots as it does on table games. However, the tax on slot earnings is 55%, while it is only 14% on table earnings.
Valley Forge is the only casino in the state operating under a mini-casino license.
There were many lawsuits challenging the State's awarding of the mini-casino license to Valley Forge. In the original vision (which did not include table games) there was supposed to be four full size casinos in Philadelphia. The mini-casino licenses were supposed to go to golf type resorts where people are plunking down hundreds of dollars a night for hotel rooms, spa treatments, and golf course fees. The casinos were supposed to be aids to help bring in the big tourist money.
Valley Forge is a business convention center that attracts a lot of day business. It is not radically different from Sugarhouse (which is the smallest full size casino in PA). Plus no one developed the 4th full size casino in Philadelphia, so the State had to take back the license.
June 18th, 2012 at 2:21:16 PM
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Stopped by VF Casino today....not much to report, because there's not much casino to report on:
The casino is small enough that you can see the whole thing, more or less, from the entrance. The way the admission fee works, if you have to pay, is you can either spend $10 on the property or pay $10 to enter the casino. If you pay to enter, you'll get a $10 gift card to spend on the property during your visit (at the gift shop, restaurant, etc). This works well if you're there too early for lunch (I was there at 10am on a Monday).
It's easier to think of VF as a table games parlor with slots on the periphery, than as a traditional casino, with tons of slots and table games down the center. They did have a wide variety of the newest themed machines (as much as you can with 600 slots). Table mins were in line for other PA casinos...pai gow/mini baccarat were $25 mins, craps/roulette/3CP were $10 (3-4-5X odds), blackjack was $15 with the state mandated PA rules. They did seem to have at least one table of each game type up and running. I didn't know that PA offers late surrender. Since the rules are so locked down, the only advantage high limit players get is a 6 deck shoe in the high limit area vs. 8 decks on the main floor (per the dealer I talked to). Most tables had hand shuffling.
For such a small casino, they had a decent sized high limit gaming area (all tables). They sectioned it off from the main floor with what resembles dark wood, opened venetian blinds (best way to describe it). There were 7 or 8 tables in there, 4 blackjack and 3-4 midi baccarat, all with $100 minimums. 2 blackjack table were up and idle when I was there.
I got lucky on a penny slot, giving me a little money to play blackjack for a bit. I got my $5 souvenir chip and headed on my way after spending my "gift card" at the gift shop. There's nothing really memorable about this place. I guess if you were staying here for a convention it would be a nice way to pass the time, but I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to come back.
The casino is small enough that you can see the whole thing, more or less, from the entrance. The way the admission fee works, if you have to pay, is you can either spend $10 on the property or pay $10 to enter the casino. If you pay to enter, you'll get a $10 gift card to spend on the property during your visit (at the gift shop, restaurant, etc). This works well if you're there too early for lunch (I was there at 10am on a Monday).
It's easier to think of VF as a table games parlor with slots on the periphery, than as a traditional casino, with tons of slots and table games down the center. They did have a wide variety of the newest themed machines (as much as you can with 600 slots). Table mins were in line for other PA casinos...pai gow/mini baccarat were $25 mins, craps/roulette/3CP were $10 (3-4-5X odds), blackjack was $15 with the state mandated PA rules. They did seem to have at least one table of each game type up and running. I didn't know that PA offers late surrender. Since the rules are so locked down, the only advantage high limit players get is a 6 deck shoe in the high limit area vs. 8 decks on the main floor (per the dealer I talked to). Most tables had hand shuffling.
For such a small casino, they had a decent sized high limit gaming area (all tables). They sectioned it off from the main floor with what resembles dark wood, opened venetian blinds (best way to describe it). There were 7 or 8 tables in there, 4 blackjack and 3-4 midi baccarat, all with $100 minimums. 2 blackjack table were up and idle when I was there.
I got lucky on a penny slot, giving me a little money to play blackjack for a bit. I got my $5 souvenir chip and headed on my way after spending my "gift card" at the gift shop. There's nothing really memorable about this place. I guess if you were staying here for a convention it would be a nice way to pass the time, but I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to come back.
