mt. airy

Being on long island mt airy is the closest drive at about 2 hours away

Anyone been?

Not even close. Take the Cross Sound ferry to New London and go to Mohegan Sun.

I was at Mt Airy the day it opened for live gaming, and I have never been back. Games were pricey that day. Not sure what their limits are now.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes Barre is a better choice, IMO, and is probably only 40 minutes or less away.

Mt Airy is 80 miles door-to-door from my home in North Jersey, and I have been many times. Even so, I'm going to agree with teddy...not worth a day trip from LI if you can get to CT in the same amount of time.

The casino is very small, and not very lively...mostly seniors on a bus trip. Good BJ rules, but only a few tables open during the day. Exactly one bar in the casino, bartop VP but drinks not comped. They have a buffet that is open certain hours, a new Guy Fieri restaurant open 24hrs but no liquor license yet. There are a 2 other restaurants but I rarely see them open.

If you are staying over, the rooms are very nice and new, they have a beautiful new pool complex and a top-notch golf course.

The Sands in Bethlehem is much more interesting, and surprisingly only 1 more mile from my home than Mt Airy...the route is different. I live right off Rt 80, so if you are coming from LI you will be taking I80 once you get into Jersey, and so the Sands will be only 1 mile further than Mt Airy for you too.

Quote: coachbelly

The Sands in Bethlehem is much more interesting, and surprisingly only 1 more mile from my home than Mt Airy...the route is different. I live right off Rt 80, so if you are coming from LI you will be taking I80 once you get into Jersey, and so the Sands will be only 1 mile further than Mt Airy for you too.

Ditto.

I also live in North NJ, and will happily drive the extra one mile to the Sands.

But I echo the other responses about ferrying it up to New London then going to Mohegan Sun (or Foxwoods) - depending on WHERE on Long Island you live.

What everyone else says. We'd rather driven the extra 20 minutes to Sands. We're 10 minutes from Mohegan Pocono, 35 from Mt Airy, and 55 from Sands. Mt Airy is small and smoky. They claim 72 tables but I don't think I've seen that many open. 1800 slots? Maybe, they sure as hell are close together enough.

Of the three, Mohegan is the friendliest. Sands is the best facility. Mt Airy slots pay better than Mohegan, so lots of locals take the ride out there, but other than that there's no reason to go.

Sands baccarat is impressive. If you are a baccarat aficionado that's a place to go. Around 100 tables mostly Macau at $50-100 min. $10K max. The casino is so popular among Asian players you might have hard time finding a seat. Lot's of money made and lost. Feels like a real casino not the BS most casinos has become.

thanks. so that settles it if i drive to PA ill goto sands..........

thanks

p.s. i live in nassau county. so for me its a 45 min drive to the ferry then after the ferry ride and drive ur talking 2 and a half to three hours.

to AC its about 3 and a half hours. and to drive to new london for me is about 3 hours. they are all 3 hours lol.

thats why poconos seems convenient at only 2 hours away

its set

friends want to try a poconos area casino. much cheaper than CT and we have all been to AC

sands, mt airy, or mohegan

GO

Quote: richbailey86

its set

friends want to try a poconos area casino. much cheaper than CT and we have all been to AC

sands, mt airy, or mohegan

GO

This Mohegan Sun uses 9 CSMs!

Distance driven, time used, type of driving (two lane country road versus freeway or whatever) ... the question is really how exhausted will you be when you get there. Too frazzled to keep track of what's trump at the Blackjack table? Then its going to be a pretty expensive game no matter where you go.

Lots of BJ tables....okay but in reality what really matters is how many of them will be open when you are there and how are the limits in relation to what YOU want to play.

Even the simple question of VP machines in the bar when you want to take a break and do some serious guzzling, its not so much the comped booze or not, its how it makes you feel about it. If you THINK the place is so cheap, then you won't be happy there.

And of course we have the age old question in some circumstances of smoke.

Quote: Artemis

								
								
								
Pocono casinos, eh?  								
Well… I did a little legwork for you.								
Here are some bj info on Mohegan Casino at Pocono Downs:								
				Sur-			     BJ-	
Pit#	Decks	Soft17?	DAS?	render?	RSA?	Min~Max	     Tables#	
								
1	6	Stand	Yes	Yes	Yes	$50~$3,000	5	
								
2	6	Stand	Yes	Yes	Yes	$5~$500	        2	
2	6	Stand	Yes	Yes	Yes	$10~$1,000	5	
2	6	Stand	Yes	Yes	Yes	$25~$1,000	1	
								
3	6	Stand	Yes	Yes	Yes	$10~$1,000	2	
								
4	6	Stand	Yes	Yes	Yes	$10~$1,000	11	
								
5	6	Stand	Yes	Yes	Yes	$10~$1,000	8	
								
								
								
								
							

This Mohegan Sun uses 9 CSMs!

If anyone on this forum invented this machine, you need kicked in the shins.

Quote: Artemis

Pocono casinos, eh?

This Mohegan Sun uses 9 CSMs!

Mohegan Sun in CT has the same rules, more tables and no CSMs.

Their $5 H17 game once used CSMs, but I haven't seen them recently.

They also have six $25 Min NMSE tables.

Whats special about csm? Hard for counters?

I've been to Mohegan Sun CT many times, but MS PA only once. The only thing they have in common is the name. The players clubs have the same name but aren't connected. Even the decor is totally different.

MS and Mt Airy have large, open air parking which is fine if you don't mind a hike and the weather is good. Sands has a seven story parking garage with two elevator banks. Use the elevators at the front corner rather than the one towards the back. Sure, the one towards the back is more central once you get down to the casino, but it tends to get more traffic, so it moves slower and when leaving, you may miss the first (or even second) because of the number of people in front of you.

I assume you're traveling via Route 80. Sands vs MtA is a difference of about 2 miles. Add about 35 miles for MS.


I'm primarily a poker player so I'm gonna focus on that.

I was at MtA only twice. Once when they first opened, and again a few years later when table games were added, At that time, the poker 'room' was a small alcove where they fit about 8 tables. They've since moved it to what I've been told is a hard to find room that's quite large but only has 11 tables in it. I've also heard that they often have to cancel tournaments due to a lack of players.

I've only been to MS once, because I had business in the area. The poker room is in the basement (but nicely furnished) of the racetrack grandstand. The day I was there, (a Saturday afternoon) only 5 of the about 30 tables had games going. The poker room is easy to find, but separate from the casino, which is in a new building. They are connected by an indoor corridor that seemed like a long hike.

Sands has about 40 poker tables that's kinda smack dab in the middle of the casino. There's a wrought iron railing around the area to help define the 'room'. It's kinda "L" shaped with one small part bordering on the smoking half of the casino. A different edge of the room borders on the entrance to the food court / shopping mall. Usually, if the casino is busy, the poker room is also busy with most of the tables having games running. The wait list can be long, but moves at a decent rate. I've never waited more than 20 minutes for a seat. My biggest dislike about their poker room is that the closest mens room is a choice of the one at the far end of the food court, or halfway down towards the high limit area, thru the smoking area. A hike either way. The other complaint is that the only cage is in the smoking area. The air circulation system seems insufficient to handle the task.

Still, I much prefer the Sands.


Regarding food:

I don't recall if I ate anything when I was at MS (I was there after performing a wedding ceremony nearby - and staying for part of the reception).

The two times I was at MtA, I was there with family. Both times we ate at the buffet and didn't like it. Since our first trip was shortly after they first opened and the second was several years later, we figured the buffet would have improved. Wrong.

At the Sands, I usually eat off the poker players menu. Basic food, but never had a bad meal. There were a couple cases where I was with people and ate at the restaurants. Nothing stands out as good or bad. Then again, I'm not that much of a food critic.


Hope that helps.

1) Valet parking is free at Mohegam Pocono.
2) The Rustic Kitchen at Mohegan Pocono is excellent, and inexpensive for the quality. Get the Italian spring rolls.
3) I think valet parking is free at Mt Airy, but I'm not sure. Regardless, even if you have to pay it's worth it because the parking sucks.

Quote: richbailey86

Whats special about csm? Hard for counters?

CSMs turn APs away automatically; thus, like Macau casinos, this casino saves some $70,000 per year by NOT hiring an AP-catcher. Why hire an expensive AP-catcher when CSMs can eradicate APs like rats, right?

Quote: FleaStiff

Distance driven, time used, type of driving (two lane country road versus freeway or whatever) ... the question is really how exhausted will you be when you get there. Too frazzled to keep track of what's trump at the Blackjack table? Then its going to be a pretty expensive game no matter where you go.

Lots of BJ tables....okay but in reality what really matters is how many of them will be open when you are there and how are the limits in relation to what YOU want to play.

Even the simple question of VP machines in the bar when you want to take a break and do some serious guzzling, its not so much the comped booze or not, its how it makes you feel about it. If you THINK the place is so cheap, then you won't be happy there.

And of course we have the age old question in some circumstances of smoke.

I reckon that your implied opinions about Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs are as follows:

1) Don't waste your time in this casino.
2) There are lots of bj tables, but most of them are NOT open due to the lack of players.
3) It's not easy to drive there. Going to this casino is like climbling Mount Everest... as evidenced by this photo below:





"How am I doing?" Mayor Koch always asked :-)

Thanks for the long review appreciate it.