Table Games Coming to Pennsylvania - Another Blow to AC

The state House of Representatives voted 103-to-89 Wednesday in favor of a bill that allows table games at the Commonwealth's slots parlors.

Table Games in PA

I actually just visited the new Parx Casino yesterday, and little was new aside from the building itself - other than this it simply contained games transplanted from the old Philadelphia Park Casino. The new table games will be a welcome change - I just hope that they will not be dealt from those continuous auto shufflers.

Here's a link to the actual legislation

PA Table_Games_Legislation

Quote: MrPapagiorgio

The state House of Representatives voted 103-to-89 Wednesday in favor of a bill that allows table games at the Commonwealth's slots parlors.

Table Games in PA

I actually just visited the new Parx Casino yesterday, and little was new aside from the building itself - other than this it simply contained games transplanted from the old Philadelphia Park Casino. The new table games will be a welcome change - I just hope that they will not be dealt from those continuous auto shufflers.

Time will tell--when I was in Wheeling they did NOT use autoshufflers in most BJ games. In fact, Mountaineer Racino is pulling the autoshufflers from the poker room as they cost $10,000/yr and the room wasn't supporting them. So maybe they will compare $1,000/month vs the gain from more hands per hour and stifling counters and decide against them.

Admittedly a bit belated but I thought this might interest you;:

Gaming Control Board To Begin Its Work To Permit Table Games At Pennsylvania Casinos; Process Expected to Take 6 to 9 Months

I grew up in Bethlehem PA, where Las Vegas Sands has opened their casino in an old steel mill. I was surprised to Sands Corporation opening a casino in a small city, since I always associated that type of facility with Harrah's Entertainment Group. But the potential is there. The plan is to build a hotel, shopping center and convention center to try and lure people from northern New Jersey and even from Manhattan. Drive distance is 80 miles from Manhattan verses 130 miles to Atlantic City. The 50 mile difference will make it easier to do day trips. Sizeable urban areas in New Jersey are under 60 miles from Bethlehem.
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When I was in college people used to get on buses and go to Atlantic City to gamble. Now it seems funny that people will be coming from New Jersey to Bethlehem to gamble.
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The initial 3000 machines make more than the 3000 slot machines in Venetian/Palazzo. In Bethlehem they took in $58 million for the last quarter (3Q 09) compared to $52 million in Las Vegas. In Las Vegas table games also took in $52 million last quarter, so we'll see how close they can come to that amount in Bethlehem PA. Of course, Bethlehem will never pull in the kind of money from rooms, food and beverage, entertainment and retail that comes into the Las vegas property. And the tax rate is huge in PA.
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It will be interesting to see if the Bethlehem property is a recruitment center for the Las Vegas property. It should build brand loyalty that will make Venetian/Palazzo the casino of choice when people go to Las Vegas.
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The real blow to Atlantic City will be the planned casinos directly in the urban center of Philadelphia PA. Right now there are two racinos in the suburbs. To the best of my knowledge PA is pioneering the construction of casinos in downtown metropolitan locations (outside of Nevada). Philadelphia to Atlantic City, NJ is only 62 miles.
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I suppose it is possible that New Jersey could try and trump PA by permitting a racino in the Meadowlands Race Track. They are already planning on opening one of the largest shopping malls in the country at that location. That is only 6 miles from Manhattan. Bus fare is $4.50 round trip and departs every 60 minutes from the Port Authority.

From the day that the Sands opened, Mount Airy's business dropped about 20%--I am sure that there were other factors at play as well that would account for such a drop in revenue (e.g. novelty may have worn off just a bit, etc.). Both venues fall under the category of reclamation projects--the Bethlehem Steel area and the old Mount Airy Lodge area were little more than waste sites.

Unquestionably, the casinos breathed life into otherwise dead areas that had seemingly precious few viable alternatives.

Paco, since you lived in the area, I am sure you know what I mean.

It might interest you to know that Mount Airy recently purchased that area formally known as Pocono Gardens Lodge...another area fallen to ruin. It remains to be seen/heard what they have planned for that location.

Now, there is talk of the final Category #3 license (fewer slots/tables...for guests only). Fernwood has had their application in for a while; Nemacolin just put theirs in. Just by the fact that Fernwood is a little less tham 15 miles from Mount Airy makes Nemacolin the heavy favorite (there is an application a little south of Gettysburg, also). So I doubt that this last license will have any kind of effect east of the Susquehanna River.

Still, with Mount Airy, Bethlehem Sands, the Parx (in Philadelphia), and even to a smaller extent, the Delaware casinos (and they expect to have the table games, also), it is difficult to envision a rosey future for AC. There will always be the shore traffic...I just wonder about the busses/daytrippers, etc.

At minimum, the competition will cause for interesting times.

Quote: pacomartin

I suppose it is possible that New Jersey could try and trump PA by permitting a racino in the Meadowlands Race Track.

Maybe, maybe not. I play poker in a pub league. The Meadowlands was one of the venues - until the Casino Control Commission caught wind of it. One letter and that venue stopped the poker game.

I really don't understand why they would do that. The league was a no-cash game type of thing. It helped people learn / practice Texas Hold Em so they will feel more confident about playing in a casino. I'm sure the result is that league players go to A.C. more often as a result.

Additionally, the league players are not necessarily horse bettors, but most would throw down a few bucks on the horse racing.

The poker players were given perks to encourage hourse betting. Nothing much, just free admission, and free programs.

And because the game was in an area of the grandstands where their normal clientelle wouldn't venutre, the track was able to accurately see how much revenue the league was generating.

How much was it? The loved us. If it weren't for that letter from the commission, we'd still be there!

Whatever. The venue that took over that night is a Fuddruckers 2 miles from home. :)

Quote: pacomartin

They are already planning on opening one of the largest shopping malls in the country at that location. That is only 6 miles from Manhattan. Bus fare is $4.50 round trip and departs every 60 minutes from the Port Authority.

That shopping and entertainment complex was started before the Giants Stadium replacement was started. Seems like a couple years before! The new stadium will be ready by fall. No idea when the retail complex will be ready. Maybe by the time the old stadium deconstruction is complete. Sigh.

Quote: pacomartin

To the best of my knowledge PA is pioneering the construction of casinos in downtown metropolitan locations (outside of Nevada).

Detroit. Also, Harrah's New Orleans.

There are also some Indian casinos in or very close to downtown metro areas, such as Potwatomi (Milwaukee) and Seneca Buffalo Creek (Buffalo).

It seems like metropolitan casinos are the final frontier. If you go to Panama the city has a whole district devoted to casinos.
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I am not sure where the resistance to commercial casinos is coming from. Nearly every politician supports gaming. The multibillion dollar Indian gaming casino business destroying the backcountry of places like San Diego County might be better replaced by commercial casinos in the older industrial areas of the city.
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Mexico considered re-legalizing gambling. It hasn't passed, but they have some sports betting and Class II games, but a lot of gringos won't cross the border anymore.
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For those of you unfamiliar with Philadelphia, the city is 23 miles at it's widest point.
(1) Parx Casino and Racetrack operated by Bally's is 19 miles from the city hall.
(2) The Chester casino and Racetrack is operated by Harrah's and is 18 miles from city hall in the other direction.
(3) Pennsylvania Sands is in the old steel mill, operated by Sands is 70 miles from Philadelphia city center, but also 83 miles from Manhattan.
(4) The casino that Foxwoods is going to build will be 3 blocks from city hall in downtown Philadelphia.

Quote: pacomartin

I am not sure where the resistance to commercial casinos is coming from.

Existing casinos lobbying to prevent additional competition?
Bible thumpers?

Quote:

I grew up in Bethlehem PA, where Las Vegas Sands has opened their casino in an old steel mill. I was surprised to Sands Corporation opening a casino in a small city, since I always associated that type of facility with Harrah's Entertainment Group. But the potential is there.

Harrah's could not get multiple licenses in the same state. As they already had Chester, Bethlehem was up for grabs. The location is great, off I-78 & Rt 22, making accessibility better than AC all the way from Morristown to Woodbridge.

Quote: pacomartin

I am not sure where the resistance to commercial casinos is coming from. Nearly every politician supports gaming. The multibillion dollar Indian gaming casino business destroying the backcountry of places like San Diego County might be better replaced by commercial casinos in the older industrial areas of the city.

All gaming does is support the tax base. The fact is that most gamblers are idiots and casinos provide a way for people to part with their money by taking 0 - 30% of every dollar that you play with.

If not done right, crime (property, drug, and prostitution) increases in proximity with the casinos (look at AC, Windsor, and Niagara Falls, NY). Gambling addicts provide a healthy percentage of the revenue and there are few programs in place to help them. Sorry for being bleak. Putting a casino in the center of an older industrial area without providing the appropriate policing and infrastructure will only deteriorate the city and reduce property values around the casino. What you get instead of a revibrant area is a center riddled with crime centred at the casino.

So I think California's reluctance to enable commercial gambling is based on a moral one.

Well, we are about to find out. Detroit was the first major city after Las Vegas to build a downtown casino, but Pittsburgh opened one last summer. Philadelphia plans on opening two, the second one bearing the name of Steve Wynn.

New Orleans opened their temporary facility before Detroit opened their temporary facility, so technically they were first. Seems to have worked pretty well for them. I don't think Detroit is doing too badly either. Gaming revenue had increased month-over-month since they opened except for a brief blip two months ago. Greektown filed for Chapter 11 and negotiated a higher tax rate with the city. They are making tons of money for lawyers and administrators in their reorginization stage. Crime and property values have remained about the same (it is Detroit).