Out of boredom I went to Mapquest and entered in some directions from "New York, NY" which defaults to the intersection of Bowery and Delancey in Lower Manhattan. And guess what, Parx is the closest:

Parx Casino, Bensalem, PA: 92 mins, 80.13 mi
Sands Bethlehem, PA: 92 mins, 81.19 mi
Mt. Airy Casino, Mt. Pocono, PA: 109 mins, 88.69 mi
Mohegan Sun, Wilkes-Barre, PA: 146 mins, 123.90 mi
Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ: 147 mins, 124.68 mi
Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT: 161 mins, 130.29 mi
Foxwoods, Ledyard, CT: 175 mins, 138.52 mi

Hotel comps or other entertainment aside, it now makes more sense for New Yorkers to come to Parx unless they want to play high-limit games above 5/10 NL. And when Parx gets through with the room expansion you very well may see no advantage to going to Borgata or the two CT casinos after all.

Thanks...

VH - I agree with you.

Parx is located in such a perfect location. It is 5 minutes from PA turnpike, so any north jersey people can just take the NJ turnpike down, take exit 6 to PA turnpike, and they are at the casino.

Obviously, the lack of a hotel is the biggest issue. There is one hotel within a 'walking distance', and couple hotels/motels within 10 minutes. It is definitely not like staying at the place, but it is a start.

They are planning on building a hotel within the next 2 years. There is a lot of space to work with, so I think they can make it very successful.

PS - I will be swinging by the poker room soon (extended lunch break ), so I'll give an update on it this afternoon.

Have fun over there and if possible snap some pictures.
Unfortunately my job is farther away from Parx than my house is so I won't be able to participate.

What is the deal with the Friday celebration as advertised on their website? What exactly will be going on, and what time on Friday does that take place?

Well - I checked out the room. It is a great room. Here are my comments/notes.

I busted out of the 'play money' cash game (top pair against set - live poker is rigged )

1) Dealers are very competent. Even though it was a trial run, they handled everything well (taking rake, side pots, counting chips). They are simulating everything today (cage, sign up process, deal rotation, cashing in/out you name it). Very impressed with this, which I'm sure will make the opening a lot smoother.

2) I know they are opening with 24 tables, but the room has around 50 or so tables all setup. The expansion I'm sure will happen very quickly which will be great. There were 4 or 5 tables that were in a 'roped area' - I'm assuming that is for the high stakes game.

3) Cup Holders!!! Chester - take notes. I play at chester, and having someones drink standing there, and I can't see half of their chips. Also, a normal drop box which doesn't break your arm when dealer takes rake.

4) Rake will be up to $5. No BBJ.

5) There are plenty of TVs, so you can watch your football/hockey/basketball/you name it.

Couple small negatives.

1) The room was a little dark for my liking. Perhaps they will adjust it later on.

2) The tables seemed a little small. I'm not the biggest person out there, but I can see some bumping going on with a few 'heavyweights'.

Any other questions about the room, shoot them my way...

Hi,

I'm new to the forums but have been anxiously waiting for the poker room to open. I've heard there are future plans to build some sort of elevated walkway from the casino to the racetrack and/or possibly expand the casino. I know it hasn't even opened yet but perhaps the poker room will be moved to the expanded casino at some point? Anyone else hear anything like that? The casino itself is really nice with the new Chickie's & Pete's and the nightclub there, I think it would be better for everything to be together.

I couldn't make it today.

Will the opening still be on the 3rd? Not that I might have time to play. I AM going to try to at least get up there to see the room in action in the evening.

Hope your practice run went well today, Ari. Wish I was able to make it out there earlier. I'm definitely going to try to get down on Friday night. Best of luck with the opening!

8th case of a parent leaving his kids in the car while he was gambling at parx lol.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...ime&id=7758863

Rats! Wish I'ld known about this before 4:57pm! That'll teach me not to check this thread every few hours.....

Oh, well - I hope that it went well.

Are you still planning on the 10:00am opening on Wednesday? I'll be there if it's on.

Lee

D'oh! I saw the 6 news van there driving around when I was leaving this afternoon o.0

There is no room for a poker room in the main casino building. However, it is my understanding that construction for a hotel, walkways, stores, and I'm not sure what else (more casino expansion, perhaps?) will take place in the space between the 2 buildings, thus connecting them into one giant structure.

Would be great (maybe even a parking garage so that we don't get all wet in bad weather!) if it happens.

Lee

For anyone who was there, how many players did you see in the room, and how many tables were going, roughly?

Also do the tables have a Bravo system like Harrah's Chester and Delaware Park?

i heard the room was packed early in the day (dealers were invited to bring friends and family). Alas, I was also one of the ones stuck at work.

Yes, the tables have Bravo.

there was roughly 8-10 tables of play money $1-2nl. the room is very spacious and tv's are EVERYWHERE. really looking forward to 10am wednesday morning. hopefully i can get a plo game running that night!

My brother was able to make it there today (I of course had to work). He fell in love with the place as soon as he walked in.

Thank you to all that had the chance to come out. All in all we were very happy with our "practice" day. Thank you for all of the positive comments, and thank you for posting for any concerns.

Hope to see everyone at 10am on the 3rd.

Ari

Can anyone tell me what's going to take place with the celebration on Friday, and what time on Friday it will take place? From http://www.parxcasino.com/#/gaming/poker/:

Crap!! I was on here this morning and didn't stop by B&M!!!..I'm such an azz!! Hope it went well Ari. Could we please have a play money session tomorrow please please?

Guys/gals you HAVE TO find a baby sitter now cause the leave-the-kid-in-the-car trick aint gonna work anymore. Apparently they are onto it and have put together a sting operation.

.... Whos gonna be the 1st to set up a car seat w/ a doll in it?

...Nah , that wouldn't be nice. . . . funny though in a sadistic sort of way

Long live Parx!! I just can't wait!!

Just to be clear- the poker room opens on Wednesday, will be open Thursday and has its grand opening officially on Friday, correct?

Ari - will the room be open all day on Wednesday?

How packed do you guys think it will be Wednesday at about 1:30pm? I'm thinking about heading down after class to check out the room.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I would think that once they open Wednesday morning that they would be open 24/7 from then on. At least that's what I would hope.

Please I am tired of driving to A.C.

Omaha 8o daily game...lets make this happen @PARX
Any limits up 15-30 would be great. Half or Full Kill.

1. Bobby
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November 25th cant come soon enough! Counting down the days...