Rivers Casino Poker Room

Categories:Promotions, Pennsylvania, SugarHouse Published by: Alex W

Information and Reviews about Rivers Casino Poker Room in Pittsburgh, including Poker Tournaments, Games, Special Events and Promotions. Attention Poker Rooms: Get your Real-Time Live Action on PokerAtlas!

The Rivers Casino PA (formerly SugarHouse casino) poker room is the only live poker room in Philadelphia. Players in the city can take part in a SugarHouse casino poker tournament 24/7.

  • The Rivers Casino is a small gem of a casino and poker room. The modest sized, but full-service, casino is fully non-smoking in all interior spaces. The Rivers Casino poker room is dark, but offers large tables and comfortable chairs. The poker staff is solid.
  • Oct 23, 2020 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 to the fast-paced poker action, players.
  • The poker room at Rivers Casino Philadelphia reopened on Friday. The casino was closed on March 15 due to COVID-19 and reopened on July 17 but the casino’s poker room remained closed until Friday.

The Casino itself houses 28 state-of-the-art poker tables complete with backlit tables and full charging stations at every position. River Casino PA (SugarHouse Casino) can definitely lay claim to having the swankiest poker room in Pennsylvania.

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Additionally, SugarHouse is officially a branded Poker Night in America poker room and hosts live televised poker tournaments and cash games. There are regular Rivers PA Casino poker promotions, including hourly high-hand giveaways. This casino promotion includes player benefits such as:

  • $300 every 30 minutes on Mondays and Wednesdays
  • A $300 giveaway every 20 minutes from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on ‘Super Saturday.’
  • $500 every 30 minutes on Thursdays and Fridays

The SugarHouse schedule consists of a player tournament every night on a weekday, with three SugarHouse poker tournaments at the weekend.

We thought we would take a look at how the poker room at SugarHouse Casino compares to other poker rooms. Does it stand up well against the poker room at Deleware Park Casino orBorgata poker? We will also take a look at SugarHouse online casino and the developments in offering online poker games for players in Pennsylvania.

Poker Room Review

As you would expect, an experienced poker player is likely to play the lowest stakes available at every poker room. In fact, all players want to play at those low stakes. The stakes you will find at SugarHouse casino range from $1/$ 2 no-limit hold’em to $2-$6 limit hold’em. State games are also available to play on request.

The most popular game at SugarHouse casino is the $1/$2 no-limit hold’em. The rake at SugarHouse is 10% up to a maximum of $5 per pot, which is the norm across most poker rooms. One of the unique features that is not the norm at SugarHouse Casino is that players have an opportunity to straddle from anywhere. This heats up the action at the table and adds an element of excitement to the games.

The poker live tables SugarHouse Casino offers numerous exciting opportunities for players looking for a game. The atmosphere is fantastic, with the poker room separate from the rest of the Casino. SugarHouse Casino does a great job of keeping the players entertained, and it is very enjoyable taking part in a SugarHouse poker tournament.

Poker Player Quality

If you are wondering about the standard of poker player that may visit SugarHouse, there is a real mixture. Many tend to watch poker on television and like to play too many hands or feel they can bluff their way through games after watching the professionals. You do not need to be an expert to play, but having some basic knowledge of the games and how they work will, of course, help.

Amateur players can play at this Casino without much trepidation. The stakes are pretty standard, and as we have mentioned, the players aren’t all fantastic. If you want to play some games in a casual setting, this Casino certainly provides that.

SugarHouse Online Poker

Rivers Casino Poker Room

SugarHouse Casino was one of the first casinos to apply for an online gambling license in PA. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved the license in 2018, allowing SugarHouse to offer slots, tables games, and online poker for Pennsylvania residents and visitors. SugarHouse Casino is one of the most reputable brands in the industry and is owned by Rush Street Gaming company, which also operates Rivers Casino.

The application for a license to offer online poker for residents in Pennsylvania cost SugarHouse Casino $2 million. So, although you cannot play poker tournaments online at present, this is something the company will want to offer in the future. Moreover, suppose they utilize their Poker Night in America broadcasts. In that case, there is an opportunity to do some cross-promotions as they look to build up and market their online poker offering and bring it to the level of competitors such as the Borgata poker blog.

Pennsylvania has some of the best casinos in the states and most of them have exclusive poker rooms. You can read more about poker tournaments in the state with our Poker tournaments PA guide. The Rivers Casino poker tournaments attract some of the best players from around the globe.

Summary

Being the only live poker room in Philadelphia, it is essential SugarHouse Casino provides an attractive environment to encourage people to come and play. It delivers that by hosting a room containing all of the modern perks, you would hope to find, including in-seat text-to-order foodservice and state-of-the-art tables. It may not be as glitzy as the bright lights of Las Vegas, but that does not diminish from its overall quality.

If you are a poker player in Philadelphia and are thinking, ‘I want a poker room near me,’ then you are in luck. You can visit a quality poker room at all hours at SugarHouse Casino. While the brand continues to work on its online poker offering, you can take a trip to the physical Rivers Casino Poker room and enjoy poker in person.

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

  • 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

Rivers Casino Poker Room Schedule

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.

Rivers Casino Poker Room Des Plaines

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:

Poker

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.

River

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.”

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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.

Online

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:

Rivers Casino Poker Room Phone Number

  • 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.