Pennsylvania Poker Rooms

Four live poker rooms are now open in Pennsylvania. The rooms where you can find live poker right now are:

1. Pennsylvania Poker Rooms Reopening
2. Pennsylvania Poker Rooms
3. Live Poker Rooms Open
4. Massachusetts Poker Rooms
5. Pennsylvania Poker Rooms Reopening

Mar 05, 2021 According to PGCB, ten of the 12 PA casinos have poker rooms. Between them, there are 225 tables operating, however as of September these all remained close because of the Coronavirus pandemic orders. Here’s a quick look at the nine poker rooms currently operating across PA. Nov 19, 2020 Pennsylvania’s two other casinos, Lady Luck Nemacolin and Valley Forge, are both currently open, though neither has poker rooms. You can follow our live updates page at PlayPennsylvania for the latest on PA casino (and poker room) closures and reopening plans as they are made available. The largest of these is the Parx Casino with 61 poker tables, followed by the Sands Casino with 39 tables, Harrah’s Philadelphia with 35 tables, and the Rivers Casino with 30 tables (4). So Pennsylvania may not have a lot of poker rooms but what they do have is plenty of action at them. Online Poker Legislation In Pennsylvania. Judging by pure size, Parx Casino and its 80-table poker room is undoubtedly PA’s crown jewel. In fact, as the gross revenue leader among PA poker rooms, it’s also far and away the most profitable. Thanks to a gambling expansion package passed in 2017, online poker is now legal in the state.The launch of the first poker site (PokerStars) happened over 700 days after that legislation was passed. Some illegal, offshore sites advertise poker rooms.

• Rivers Casino Philadelphia
• Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
• Mount Airy Casino
• Mohegan Sun Pocono
• Parx Casino

These four live poker rooms are currently closed:

• The Meadows
• Hollywood Casino
• Presque Isle Downs
• Wind Creek Casino

The WSOP poker room at Harrah’s Philadelphia permanently closed in November.

In the New Year, players will also have another live poker option in Philadelphia. Live! Casino and Hotel in Philly will open in early 2021, and a 29-table poker room should open with it, pending COVID-19 restrictions. PlayPennsylvania exclusively reported that according to workers at the new casino site, a Jan. 20 opening is planned.

We will continue to update casino and poker room closings and reopening plans at our live updates page here.

All casinos in PA set to reopen week of Jan. 4

Casinos in Pennsylvania reopening on Jan. 4 at 8 a.m.:

• Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
• The Meadows and Hollywood Casinoaccording to PennLive
• Mount Airy Casino
• Harrah’s Philadelphia
• Wind Creek Bethlehem
• Live! Casino Pittsburgh
• Parx Casino (9 a.m.)
• Mohegan Sun Pocono (10 a.m.)
• Valley Forge Casino Resort ( 1 a.m.)
• Rivers Casino Philadelphia (4 p.m.)

Opening on Tuesday, Jan. 5:

• Presque Isle Downs & Casino at 4 p.m.

Opening on Friday, Jan 8:

• Lady Luck Nemacolin at 9 a.m.

When casinos in PA reopen, they will still follow the COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols, which detail the minimum safety and health-related requirements that are mandatory before reopening.

All casinos and poker rooms ordered to close for three weeks

Gov. Wolf announced that mitigation restrictions put in place back on Dec. 12, including the closures of casinos, will be lifted Monday, January 4 at 8:00 a.m.

Parx poker room reopening in mid-December

Pennsylvania’s largest poker room announced a date for its long-awaited return. Parx Poker Room will reopen on Dec. 15 at 9.m. with all of its usual games and be open 24 hours. The news came via Parx’s website.

What’s up at Wind Creek’s poker room?

With 26 tables, Wind Creek Casino has one of the larger poker rooms in PA. A representative from Wind Creek told PlayPennsylvania they had no update on when the poker room would open.

A Wind Creek employee provided an update on some of the happenings at Wind Creek including the poker room. Read the full story here.

PA poker rooms opening one by one

Other poker rooms in Pennsylvania could be reopening any day. According to a spokesperson for the PGCB, casinos submit plans and safety protocols for review. Once they receive final approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), they can reopen.

It’s positive news for poker players who have been waiting a long time to get back to live games. Casinos in Pennsylvania started shutting down to slow the spread of coronavirus in mid-March. They did not begin to welcome back guests until June, and poker rooms were not open due to the social nature of the game.

PlayPennsylvania has contacted poker room reps for Hollywood Casino, Wind Creek Casino, and Presque Isle Downs Casino but they had no concrete plans to share.

We will continue to update you here as more rooms open or set a date for reopening.

Live Poker returned to Rivers Philadelphia but closed again

Rivers Casino Philadelphia reopened its poker room on Oct. 23. It did so with approval for up to 14 tables with a capacity of 100 guests. Under normal circumstances, the room has 28 tables and offers a variety of poker games but now the action returned with primarily No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games.

According to a recent press release, in addition to the existing casino-wide safety measures, the following precautions are in effect for the poker room (when it is open):

• Masks must be worn at all times
• Poker dealers will wear both a mask and a face shield
• Each poker table in play will have plexiglass dividers, separating players and the dealer
• A maximum of seven players allowed per table
• Frequent and thorough cleaning of all cards, chips and surfaces
• Only sanitized chips bought from the poker room cage will be used in play
• No food, beverage or smoking is permitted in the poker room or anywhere on the Rivers Casino gaming floor

Peter Longi, assistant general manager at Rivers Casino Philadelphia, commented:

“Poker players are excited to be back at the tables, enjoying the game they love. Our reopening was carefully planned with the safety of our team and guests being the primary concern. We’re eager to welcome back our poker team.”

To assist with social distancing, players are encouraged to call the poker room at 215-717-3883 to put their name on the waiting list when the room reopens. Guests can also check the Bravo Poker Live online or the website’s mobile app for the Rivers Casino poker room up-to-the-minute game status. In addition, players will have a chance to win their share of the $100,000 Bad Beat Jackpot. The minimum qualifying hand is quad 2s.

Rivers had to close its poker room once again along with the rest of the casino until at least Jan. 1, 2021.

Here’s a look at a poker table at Rivers Philadelphia:

Players pine for poker

When the PGCB released its casino reopening protocols in late May, part of them stated that poker rooms were not authorized to operate due to players’ handling of cards and chips. They also said poker room operations would be re-examined based on changes in the CDC’s and PA Department of Health’s guidance.

On June 9, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh was the first to welcome back visitors. When asked when poker rooms would return, PGCB Director of Communication Doug Harbach said poker rooms present a different type of challenge since people are sitting close together in a room. He said at the time:

“The casinos want to walk before they run and make sure they are getting the venue open and then move on to opening up other areas once they know the protocols are working well.”

PokerStars, the state’s lone online poker site, has posted healthy numbers in PA, but players are still pining for in-person play.

Harbach gave this update to PlayPennsylvania in late August about poker rooms in Pennsylvania:

“There has been no alteration to the casino reopening protocols released by the Gaming Control Board in May in which poker rooms were not authorized to operate. At the same time, this guideline can be reexamined based on health experts’ guidance. Should casinos wish to explore reopening a casino room, it would need to provide plans to do so safely, which would be reviewed by the board on a case-by-case basis.”

Poker is back in New Jersey, too

New Jersey also had a long poker pause. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa reopened its poker room, the largest in the state, on Oct. 21. The room is operating with 30 socially distanced tables. It’s about a third of the room’s 85 tables when operating at full capacity.

The Bellagio in Las Vegas opened its poker room in June. Nevada state guidelines mandated five-handed play in rooms without dividers or plexiglass partitions. However, the Bellagio’s request for six-handed poker games with partitions was approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Other poker rooms in Nevada have also reopened with virus protocols in place.

When will poker rooms in Pennsylvania reopen?

Play Pennsylvania will continue to provide updates here as more casinos announce plans and reopen live poker.

Hollywood Casino live poker update

Currently closed.

Information about Hollywood Casino Poker Room:

• 17 tables
• Monday nights, $200 high hand, every 30 minutes; Wednesdays and Thursdays, $200 high hand, every 30 minutes; Fridays, $500 high hand, every 30 minutes; Sundays, hourly high hand prizes.
• Bad Beat Jackpot
• Weekly Rack Back Bonus

The Meadows live poker update

The Meadows poker room opened on Oct. 23 with daily hours of 11 a.m. – 1 a.m.

Welcome back Poker Players! pic.twitter.com/9X66QuZqXp

— Meadows Casino (@MeadowsCasino) October 23, 2020

Information about The Meadows Poker Room:

• 14 tables
• Live games such as Texas hold’em and Omaha every day
• Progressive bad beat

Mount Airy Casino live poker update

Mount Airy’s poker room reopened on Oct. 16 and is open 24 hours.

Information about Mount Airy Casino Poker Room:

• 12 tables
• Games such as Texas hold’em, Omaha and stud

Mohegan Sun Pocono live poker update

Mohegan Sun Pocono’s poker room reopened on Oct. 16.

Information about Mohegan Sun Pocono Poker Room:

• Eight tables
• Daily tournaments feature no-limit Texas hold’em and Bounty tournaments
• Offering a Bad Beat Jackpot for BOTH cash and tournament play
• Each day, $25 added to the Royal Flush Jackpot for each of the four suites

Parx live poker update

Parx sent out an email in mid-November saying they were finalizing plans but hoped to re-open poker “before the end of December.”

Information about the Parx Casino Poker Room:

• 80 tables — the most in PA
• The room offers a variety of no-limit hold’em games (from $1-$2 up to $10-$25), limit hold’em ($3-6 up to $30-$60), pot-limit Omaha, Omaha eight or better and a variety of mixed and draw games
• Weekly tournaments. Major tournament: Parx Big Stax

Presque Isle Downs live poker update

The poker room is currently closed.

Information about Presque Isle Downs Poker Room:

• Seven tables
• Games like hold’em and Omaha. Also offering multitable and single-table tournaments (sit and go’s)

Rivers Casino Philadelphia live poker update

Rivers Philadelphia reopened poker on Oct. 23. But it is closed once again as of Nov. 20 along with the casino to comply with city orders. It could reopen as soon as Jan. 1.

Cards are in the air! Welcome back players! $200 high hands are on every hour 24/7 all of October! Call 215-717-3883 to reserve your seat. pic.twitter.com/MwcxTABsNM

— Rivers Philadelphia Poker Room (@riverspokerphl) October 23, 2020

Information about Rivers Casino Philadelphia Poker Room:

• 28 tables
• Rivers offers a wide variety of poker games, including, but not limited, to Texas hold’em, Omaha-high, Omaha-hi/lo split eight or better, seven-card stud high, seven-card stud low, seven-card stud hi/lo split and seven-card stud hi/lo split eight or better.
• Poker promotions and tournaments listed on site when available.

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh live poker update

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh opened on Nov. 11. And beginning Nov. 16, Rivers Pittsburgh will operate 24/7, according to their twitter.

We are excited to announce that the Poker Room will be opening on Wednesday, November 11th at 4PM. We can’t wait to welcome you back!

Learn more about what you can expect and current hours: https://t.co/heQ3qJyQbV

Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler pic.twitter.com/FjgJY2cC7v

— Rivers Casino Pittsburgh (@WinBigRivers) November 10, 2020

Information about Rivers Casino Pittsburgh Poker Room:

• 30 tables
• Poker promotions and tournaments listed on site when available

Wind Creek Bethlehem live poker update

Wind Creek poker room remains closed.

Information about Wind Creek Bethlehem Poker Room:

• 26 tables
• Variety of games such as limit and no-limit Texas hold ’em, stud and Omaha. Limits starting at $3 and $6
• Automated shufflers on every poker game
• Bad Beat Jackpot available daily
• Massage service

Lady Luck Nemacolin and Valley Forge do not have poker rooms. PlayPennsylvania exclusively reported that Harrah’s Philadelphia closed its WSOP-branded room in August.

More online poker operators coming to PA

PokerStars arrived in Pennsylvania in November 2019 and has been the state’s only operator for 11 months. Partypoker was rumored to be coming in the early fall, but like most party plans in 2020, it hasn’t happened.

Last week, the PGCB approved Caesars‘ online poker partner 888 Holdings for an interactive gaming manufacturer license. 888 Poker was the No. 1 poker website in the country last year. It has a self-branded poker platform, and its software powers World Series of Poker (WSOP) online and mobile sites.

It seems only a matter of time before both partypoker and WSOP.com make their way to PA.

Health and safety at PA casinos

Here are a few things you should know in case you have not been to a casino since they reopened. Per the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, all casinos in the state must follow the COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols, which detail the minimum safety and health-related requirements that are mandatory before reopening.

Casinos may also choose to have additional measures, such as temperature checks at the entrance.

Key points to remember are:

• Casinos can reopen at 50% capacity. (Rivers Casino Philadelphia is open at 25%.)
• Employees and guests must wear masks.
• There must be markings on the floor to promote social distancing.
• Enhanced cleaning is required throughout the facility.

In addition, there is a current pause on smoking at casinos, no drink service on the gaming floor and no sitting at the bar.

Be sure to check back often as we continue to post updates on PA poker room reopenings here.

Lead image of Meadows poker room via AP Photo/Keith Srakocic.

With many states, whether or not online gambling or online poker in particular is prohibited by law or not requires considerable interpretation of existing law to decide whether this form of gambling falls within its scope.

Then we have states like Pennsylvania, where the matter is made much simpler for us. Some states only really go after gaming operators, and Pennsylvania is clearly one of those states.

The criminal statutes that apply to gambling don’t even mention gambling per se as being prohibited, it instead is aimed at prohibiting state residents from running or promoting gambling operations in the state (1).

So while it would be an offense to operate a location where people were permitted to play poker online, or at least it might be depending on your reading of the law, the act of gambling itself isn’t prohibited. The closest they come to addressing this topic is prohibiting video terminals, which offering someone the opportunity to gamble via such a terminal would be an offense, however the actual playing on it would not be.

The section does address unlawful gambling establishments, basically prohibiting anyone from promoting them, but playing online poker in your own home would be far away from falling into such a definition. So online poker players in Pennsylvania are as much in the clear as would seem possible, and unlike some other states where it may clearly be illegal to partake in non state licensed gambling, there aren’t any such constraints in this state.

So this is as good as it gets really for online poker players short of actually licensing and regulating it, which could come very soon as lawmakers have been working tirelessly to legalize iGaming here in the past few years. It could very much become a reality VERY SOON that we see tons of licensed PA online casinos and poker sites popping up and providing a much-needed financial boost to the state’s revenue.

Live Poker In Pennsylvania

What state in the U.S. leads in tax revenues from gambling? If you thought it is Nevada, you are wrong. It’s actually Pennsylvania, who has led this race for the past several years (2). They also clearly beat their neighbor to the east, New Jersey, and declining gambling revenues in New Jersey are in large part due to Pennsylvania’s increasing ones.

The billion and a half dollars that the state of Pennsylvania now takes in from gambling tax revenues is hefty indeed, and give you an idea of how big the casino action is there, especially since they added table games in 2010, which coincides with their dramatic increase in revenues.

Permitting table games also permitted poker rooms to open up. Included in all this casino action is live poker as well, although there are only 10 poker rooms in the state, considerably less than some other states.

This list includes Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, Mohegan Sun in Wilkes Barre, Parx Casino in Bensalem, Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Sugar House Casino in Philadelphia, Hollywood Casino Penn National In Grantville, Mount Airy Casino in Mt. Pocano, Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Sands Casino in Bethleham, and the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington, PA (3).

The largest of these is the Parx Casino with 61 poker tables, followed by the Sands Casino with 39 tables, Harrah’s Philadelphia with 35 tables, and the Rivers Casino with 30 tables (4). So Pennsylvania may not have a lot of poker rooms but what they do have is plenty of action at them.

Online Poker Legislation In Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has yet to pass a bill regulating online poker in the state, but they have introduced a bill which seeks to do just that (5). In the original draft it specifically mentioned poker, but the version that was introduced removed that reference and now seeks to regulate any approved interactive game, leaving the door open for online casino gaming as well.

The folks in Pennsylvania do like their gambling revenue though and they will probably be one of the next states to regulate it. There is some opposition from land based casinos but in the end they will probably decide that adding to their tax revenue base is more important to them than appeasing certain operators who simply are looking to protect their market share.

Pennsylvania is larger than Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware combined, with over 12 million people, and therefore would be the largest state to date to regulate online poker provided that they don’t get passed by a larger state like California or New York, who are also considering it.

Pennsylvania Poker Rooms Reopening

Pennsylvania is at the top of most people’s list of which states are most likely to be next in regulating online poker though, and a recent study that they did which allayed concerns that online gambling would cannibalize land based casinos only added to this likelihood.

While this isn’t exactly on the horizon yet and much needs to be done to make this a reality, it is headed there and will probably happen sooner rather than later.

Recommended Online Poker Rooms For Pennsylvanians

While poker players in Pennsylvania wait for online poker regulation, there’s no real reason to wait at all as there are already some very good options for online poker for residents of this state.

Here are our top recommendations for you if you are from Pennsylvania:

Ignition Poker Review: This is PokerLaws.org’s top-rated online poker site that welcomes Pennsylvanians today. They are even more generous with their welcome bonus offer of 100% up to $1,000, and offer some of the best poker software in the industry. The popularity of Zone Poker and anonymous tables is something they’ve brought to the poker world from Bovada, whose software they actually purchased in 2016 and used it to re-brand as Ignition.

America’s Cardroom: America’s Cardroom has been one of the best places for Americans to play online poker for quite a while now, and they welcome residents of Pennsylvania with open arms. They are even looking to bring back some of the glory days of U.S. online poker back with some big tournaments, the kind we haven’t seen in a long time. Overall a very nice poker site with decent traffic and nice promotions, including up to $1,000 in bonus money to welcome you.

References:

(1) Statutes Of Pennsylvania, Consolidated Statutes, Title 18, Section 5513, Gambling Devices, Gambling, etc.

(2) Pennsylvania Leads U.S. In Gaming With Tax Windfall

(3) All Live And Online Poker Rooms In Pennsylvania

(4) Breaking Down The Best Live Poker Rooms In Pennsylvania

(5) The General Assembly of Pennsylvania, Senate Bill 1386, Session of 2014

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