Luckyrate

• Sands Poker Room
• Sands Casino Pa Poker Room Locations
• Sands Casino Pa Address
• Sands Casino Pa Poker Tournaments
• Sands Poker Room Calendar
• Sands Casino Poker Tournaments

Sands Casino: poker room - See 1,459 traveler reviews, 114 candid photos, and great deals for Bethlehem, PA, at TripAdvisor.

In 2003, former accountant Chris Moneymaker sparked a nationwide poker boom after winning the World Series of Poker Main Event through an online satellite. At the time though, PA card players didn’t have a convenient place to enjoy live poker legally inside the state, and were relegated to making long trips to the poker rooms at Borgata, Foxwoods and elsewhere.

The following year, PA lawmakers passed landmark legislation allowing for the construction of several casinos and authorizing limited forms of gambling, like slot machines. Unfortunately, the bill did not include provisions for table games like poker, or casino staples such as blackjack and craps.

That all changed in 2010, when Pennsylvania casinos and racinos were given the green light to offer peer-to-peer poker along with a wide array of table games.

Now, Commonwealth poker players have their pick of 10 poker rooms, scattered throughout the territory, and are choosing to spend their money at local casinos instead of taking their cash out of state. With the passage of a new online gambling law, they will soon have the opportunity to play online as well.

Sands Poker Room

The addition of poker and table games has, in short order, helped turn Pennsylvania’s gambling industry into the second largest in the US, behind only Nevada.

Here we take a closer look at each of PA’s brick-and-mortar poker rooms, highlighting what they have to offer in terms of cash games and tournaments, signature series, amenities and more.

Parx Casino

Parx’s poker room is widely considered to be the state’s premier poker destination, and is by far the biggest and most profitable in PA.

In 2018, the casino completed a $50 million expansion which included the construction of a brand-new 48-table, state-of-the-art poker venue. Patrons can now enjoy their favorite games surrounded by high-end finishes and nearly two dozen high definition TVs.

The room now also features a VIP poker “enclave” for highrollers, or anyone brave enough to take a shot at high-stakes.

Parx’s cash game selection is second to none in the state. Casual players will have no trouble finding low to mid-stakes No Limit and PLO games, and can even jump into one of several $10/$10 NLHE tables which run most nights.

$15/$30 Limit games get going most evenings as well, with bigger Mixed games coming together during high-traffic hours. $6/$12 O/E and $10/$20 Big O/SuperStud are also popular games, which generally can’t be found at other PA poker rooms.

Parx is well-known for its Big Stax tournament series, and offers the chance to make a nice score in nightly tournaments as well.

Parx will be bringing its brand into the online realm when PA online gambling sites get the green light to launch later this year. The company inked a partnership deal with gambling software provider GameAccount Network back in 2015, which will power the casino’s iGaming sites.

Sands Bethlehem

Sands Casino is home to PA’s second-highest grossing brick-and-mortar poker room, which boasts a total of 30 tables.

Players can always find $1/$2 and $2/$5 NLHE tables running, with higher stakes action kicking off sporadically, especially on weekends. Omaha, Limit Hold’em, and Stud games also come together, but do not run as regularly.

Tournament players will enjoy nightly events at Sands and special series like the DeepStack Extravaganza.

The poker room is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, a dozen plasma TVs, and offers massage service along with complimentary beverages.

As one of the top poker operators in the state, Sands would be well-positioned to open its own poker site under PA’s new online gambling law. Company CEO Sheldon Adelson, however, is a staunch opponent of iGaming and has spent a great deal of resources in an effort to shut down the industry entirely. That said, it’s difficult to imagine that Sands will be opening its own online poker site anytime soon.

SugarHouse Casino

SugarHouse Casino’s Poker Night in America poker room lies 60 miles south of Sands, and is a popular choice for grinders in Philadelphia and beyond.

The venue boasts 28 tables and offers mostly low stakes NLHE, with the option to play PLO and a few other variants a couple of times a week.

Tournaments run on most days, and currently feature a $5,000 guarantee. The room is also known for its Sugar Rush Challenge, a special $250 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed event.

The card room is the home of Poker Night in America, a CBS Sports Network television series which broadcasts marquee poker tournaments from around the country.

SugarHouse is owned by Rush Street Interactive, which operates the successful SugarHouse Casino online gambling site in New Jersey. The casino will almost certainly open up its own online casino in its home state as well, which could include a virtual poker room.

Rivers Casino

For poker players living in Western Pennsylvania, or in neighboring Ohio, Rivers is by far the most attractive option. Located on the Ohio River, the casino’s poker room boasts 30 tables and is the fourth highest grossing room in the state.

No Limit players will always find a few smaller stakes tables running, with $5/$10 and $10/$20 games ramping up during the busier hours. PLO tables come together occasionally, as do lower stakes Limit Hold’em games.

The card room is known to offer occasional freerolls, along with a $10K “Full House Ladders” promotion and High Hand awards.

Tournament players can take their pick of two daily events, six days a week, with an additional tournament added on Saturdays.

Like SugarHouse, Rivers is run by Rush Street Gaming, and will very likely dip its toes into the online gambling waters using software created by its in-house iGaming development team.

Harrah’s Philadelphia

Situated on the Delaware River in Chester, Harrah’s poker room is stocked with 28 tables, which spread mostly No Limit and Limit games. Stakes tend toward the lower end, with $2/$6 Limit Hold’em, and $1/$2 – $1/$3 NLHE being the most commonly spread games.

Apart from the two tournaments the casino runs daily, Harrah’s offers the chance at winning a seat into the World Series of Poker Main Event in live satellites, through its affiliation with the WSOP.

In addition, patrons can win extra cash during High Hand promotions and through a Bad Beat Jackpot which triggers when quad 2s or higher go down in flames. A number of modestly priced run throughout the week, with buy-ins topping out at $95.

Harrah’s is owned by Caesars Interactive Entertainment, which is extremely active in the online gambling industry in New Jersey and Nevada. In both states, Caesars has partnered with 888 to power the WSOP.com online poker network. Harrah’s will no doubt open up their own iGaming site, likely using the same software.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National

Offering just 17 tables, the game selection at Hollywood Casino is not nearly as diverse as some of its competitors. You will, however, find $1/$2 NLHE games running consistently, higher stakes NLHE games running primarily on the weekends. Limit and PLO tables run a few times per week.

The room spreads tournaments Monday-Saturday and offers a Bad Beat Jackpot which can grow into the six figures.

Mohegan Sun Pocono

Mohegan Sun Pocono boasts a poker room that is slightly larger than Hollywood’s, yet over the years it’s taken in significantly less revenue. Of late, however, the room appears to be on the upswing, with as many as 20 games running on weekends. The most common game is by far $1/$2 NLHE, but Limit and PLO games do run with some frequency.

The card room is a non-smoking venue, which features a Bad Beat Jackpot and a Royal Flush Jackpot promo.

Players can choose from two daily tournaments, which include Rebuys, Deepstacks, Bounties and Turbos. However, high stakes players may be disappointed with the selection, as the only time Mohegan supports MTTs with buy-ins of $100 or greater is on Fridays and Saturday.

Mohegan Sun operates its own online casino in the Garden State and will likely participate in the PA iGaming market, perhaps in a partnership with PokerStars.

The Meadows Racetrack & Casino

The Meadows is located less than an hour’s drive south of Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, its closest geographical competitor. The card room features just 14 poker tables, but offers a view of live horseracing which can’t be beat.

The poker room offers both No Limit and Limit Hold’em games, occasionally spreading PLO. Tournaments run twice daily, Monday-Saturday, with events occasionally scheduled for Sundays as well.

The Meadows has also become an official stop on the Heartland Poker Tour, a televised poker tournament series.

Mount Airy Casino Resort

With just nine poker tables to choose from, cash game options at Mount Airy are severely limited, usually consisting of a few tables of low limit NLHE. Not surprisingly, the low traffic makes putting together a viable tournament essentially impossible.

Players do have the chance to win extra cash in occasional promotions, however, like the High Hand promo the room is running currently.

There have been musings that Mount Airy is going to move its poker room, which is currently sequestered in a difficult to find second story room, back onto its original location on the main casino floor. There, it thrived.

Presque Isle Downs

Located a short distance from Lake Erie, Presque Isle is the smallest and lowest earning cardroom in the state, featuring a meager seven poker tables.

Surprisingly, the room still manages to put together a tournament five or six days a week, some with surprisingly high buy-ins and guarantees. We do wonder how many of these MTTs actually get off though.

Subscribe and get alerts on new PA online gambling sites and bonus codes

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously

Coordinates: 40°36′53″N75°21′33″W / 40.6148°N 75.3591°W

The Wind Creek Bethlehem (formerly Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem) is a casino hotel located in the Bethlehem Works development site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is owned and operated by Wind Creek Hospitality, an entity of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

• 3Facilities
• 4Events

History[edit]

The property is one of five stand-alone casinos that was awarded a slots license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on December 20, 2006.^[1] It was developed by the Las Vegas Sands corporation. The casino was slated to open in July 2008, but demolition took longer than expected due to the heavy concrete foundations of the old steel building. Its opening was delayed until the second quarter of 2009. The first concrete for the complex, which is located on the former Bethlehem Steel land on the south side of the city, was poured on November 15, 2007.

It opened on May 22, 2009. While the Las Vegas Sands owned several properties, this was the only casino in the United States to carry the Sands brand in its name, since the original Sands Hotel in Las Vegas was demolished and replaced with The Venetian, and the Sands Atlantic City was closed and demolished.

In the winter of 2009–2010, the casino was granted a license for table games which allowed the casino to expand to include 180 table games, including poker, blackjack and craps.^[2] Table games began operation on July 18, 2010. The Sands Hotel opened on May 27, 2011.

It was the only property in the company to end 2014 with a profit, doing better than Sands' Vegas and Asia properties.

In November 2016, a planned expansion of the gaming floor, along with, two additional restaurants was announced.

In March 2018, it was announced that the property would be sold to Wind Creek Hospitality for $1.3 billion.^[3][4] Wind Creek Hospitality had plans for a $190-million expansion to the property that would add a 300-room hotel and possibly an indoor water park.^[5] The sale was completed in May 2019,^[6] and the property was renamed as Wind Creek Bethlehem in July 2019.^[7]

Wind Creek Event Center[edit]

The Wind Creek Event Center was designed by Howard Kulp Architects of Salisbury Township. The event center features 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m²) of flexible multipurpose space, which accommodates meetings, conventions, and a variety of entertainment events.^[8][9] The venue can house 3,800 in a general admission setting and 2,500 in a reserved seating setting.^[10] Operated by Live Nation Mid-Atlantic, it was opened on May 16, 2012 as the Sands Bethlehem Event Center, with a concert by Incubus.^[11]Janet Jackson performed to a sold-out crowd at the venue in November 2017 for her State of the World Tour.^[12]Britney Spears performed at the venue in July 2018 on her Piece of Me tour.^[13]

Facilities[edit]

Gaming[edit]

The casino features over 3,000 slot machines, 200 table games, and several electronic table games. Sands spent $26 million in 2009 to add 119 table games: 41 blackjack tables, four craps, four roulette, four three-card poker, fourteen mini-baccarat, four midi-baccarat, three pai gow poker, two pai gow tiles, one Big Six, two Let It Ride, two Caribbean stud, four Texas Hold'em Bonus, one Casino War, one sic bo and 12 poker tables. Later a 30-table poker room was built off of the main floor. Table games began operation on July 18, 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Dining[edit]

• Buddy V's
• Burgers and More by Emeril (BAM)
• Carlo's Bake Shop(also known as Carlo's Bakery)
• Chopstick
• Croissanterie
• Emeril's Fish House
• Steelworks Buffet & Grill
• The Market Gourmet Express Food Court, currently including:
  • Bananas
  • Casa Java
  • Far East
  • GreenLeafs
  • Mo Burger
  • South Philly Steaks & Fries
  • Villa Italian Kitchen

Sands Casino Pa Poker Room Locations

Nightlife[edit]

• Molten
• Coil Lounge
• Vision Bar

Shopping[edit]

The Outlets at Wind Creek Bethlehem is an indoor shopping mall that connects the casino and the hotel.^[14] The outlet center, which opened on November 1, 2011 and is located under the Minsi Trail Bridge, comprises 133,000 sq ft (12,400 m²) of retail space and includes a food court, near the casino entrance.

Events[edit]

Lehigh Valley Food & Wine Festival[edit]

Sands Casino Pa Address

The hotel hosts the yearly Lehigh Valley Food & Wine Festival, held at the end of May/early June to benefit the culinary and hospitality program at Northampton Community College.^[15]

Sands Casino Pa Poker Tournaments

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'PA Gaming Control Board Approval'(PDF). PA Gaming Control Board. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
2. ^'PA Gaming Control Board Renews Slots License For Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem - Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board'. gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
3. ^Radzievich, Jon Harris, Nicole. 'Sands Bethlehem casino to be sold to Alabama Indian tribe for $1.3 billion'. Lehigh Valley Business Cycle. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
4. ^'Las Vegas Sands selling Bethlehem casino for $1.3 billion'. lehighvalleylive.com. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
5. ^Backover, Justin; Lewis, Will (January 15, 2019). 'Sands Bethlehem expansion plans include 300-room hotel, possible water park'. Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
6. ^Harris, Jon (May 31, 2019). 'The deal is complete: Sands Bethlehem casino is now owned by Wind Creek Hospitality'. The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
7. ^Gore, Leada (July 16, 2019). 'Sands Casino renamed by Poarch Creek, now known as Wind Creek Bethlehem'. The Birmingham News. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
8. ^'Venue - Sands Bethlehem Event Center'. Sands Bethlehem Event Center. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
9. ^'Sands Event Center to expand, with new balcony, before 2nd anniversary | Howard Kulp Architects'. www.hkulparchitects.com. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
10. ^Moser, John J. (February 12, 2012). 'Sands Bethlehem Event Center: Here's what it looks like, what's ahead, and why it will succeed'. The Morning Call. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
11. ^Olanoff, Lynn (May 16, 2012). 'Sands Bethlehem Event Center holds grand opening before Incubus concert'. The Express-Times. Advance Publications. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
12. ^Moser, John (November 10, 2017). 'Janet Jackson seeks respect, wins with hits, at Sands Bethlehem Event Center'. The Morning Call. Retrieved November 13, 2018. But it also wasn’t a surprise when, after all that, Jackson told the sold-out crowd, “Get the point? Good, let’s dance,” and spent most of the rest of the 34-song show doing a litany of hits.
13. ^Moser, John J. (July 18, 2018). 'Britney Spears' Vegas-style show borders on boring at Sands'. The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
14. ^Darrow, Chuck (November 1, 2011). 'Sands opens shopping mall'. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
15. ^'Lehigh Valley Food & Wine Fesitval'. Lehigh Valley Food & Wine Festival Website. Retrieved 2017-08-23.

Sands Poker Room Calendar

Sands Casino Poker Tournaments