pa,casinos????

[clowndoctor]

hi everyone clowndoctor here mike is my name and i play dd bonus vp and played at mountaineer and found myself playing at meadows more since they have vegas style machines..mountaineer has 10 quarter machines but when playing 5 quarters it only pays 1500 for a royal and 2000 for 4 aces w a kicker.meadows is ok but wondering if any of you clowns on here have been to wheeling downs in west virginia and know how the video poker is there???if so give me an update!!!!!thanks!!!!

[clwn2]

Way to go clown!!  Mike is a good friend of mine and I promised him that all you members in Pa would respond and let him know what your playing experience in these casinos was.  My advise to him was to check out Wheeling Downs for the hell of it but he is hesitant.
 
Don't let him down!!
 
Mike, take off your skirt and get down there and check it out.
 
I have the coffee on!!
 

[clowndoctor]

thanks for the feedback!!!!!!

[Bd131]

The meadows is 30 minutes from my house and Wheeling is about an hour. Both are beating each other up for the money with Wheeling taking more of the beating than the Meadows.
 
Everyone around here knows that Wheeling has never paid well and that is before the Meadows and other Pa casinos opened.
 
B
As for VP I will play at the Meadows before Wheeling or Mountaineer. I have hit many 4 deuces and 2 Royals at the Meadows. A player hit the progressive DDB the other day for $20,000+.
The best machines if you have the bank roll are the $5.00 DDB progressive machines located in the front main casino area.
 
Both WV casinos are good for one thing and that is for table games. The poker room at Wheeling is much better than it has been in the past and that is because of the Poker tournaments.
 
 

[clowndoctor]

thanks bd131 i figured that was the case ive been to the meadows atleast 25 times this year alone and have gottin 3 royals and 4 aces w kicker 10 or so times and play mostly 25 cent machines..i live in hopewell were do you live..looks like i will not waste my time at wheeling downs; i know the bank of 5 dollars your talking about because the 1 dollar is on the other side..thanks 4 the feedback

[Bd131]

Greene county near Waynesburg.
 
Wheeling was always known to have tight machines, they had the casino industry by the balls in westen Pa that of course ended with the Meadows. It is funny when you talk to people who drive from Ohio to the Meadows, they drive right past Wheeling.
 
I hope many dont read this as a complete knock on Wheeling, they do offer some things that I enjoy and the other is dog races and of course table games.
 
By the way what time do you normally go to the Meadows? The reason for asking is because I refuse to go anytime after 10:00 am due to the crowds.
 
b 

[clowndoctor]

i go at nite never ever during the day i like youself refuse it doesnt take a rocket sciencest to figure that out i get really  zoned out while playing and hate big crowds while playing..i leave about 10 11 pm and it takes 45 min or so to get there and at times its busy when i get there but about 1 or 2am it starts to weed out some!!!ive got my best hands at 3 or 4am!!lets keep intouch maybe will meet there sometime!!!!mike is my name!!!!

[Bd131]

Since this site has people from all over the US and further I wanted to post this news article from the local Pittsburgh paper. There was so many doubters when the casinos were planned for Pa.
 
Thanks for reading.
 
In first year, Meadows casino is coming out a winner
Monday, June 09, 2008
By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Five hundred people lined up on a June morning a year ago outside The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, happy to be the first ones to risk their money on beeping, flashing machines offering a chance -- albeit slim -- to fatten rather than flatten wallets.
They and thousands like them have been returning regularly to the Washington County slots parlor ever since, generating revenue well above expectations. The month of May was the biggest since the facility opened, and by one measure -- the $417 it generated per day per machine -- it has become the most successful of the seven casinos operating in Pennsylvania.
Not even the temporary shell building that lacks most casino amenities, nor ongoing construction that creates parking headaches, nor the addition of table games by West Virginia competitors, nor an economic slowdown accompanied by soaring gasoline prices has discouraged a mostly middle-aged and elderly crowd from flocking to the location 25 miles south of Pittsburgh.
By the time the one-year anniversary is marked Wednesday with giveaways to patrons, slots players will have lost about $230 million -- the less positive way of describing the casino's gross pre-tax revenue -- in the 1,800-plus machines of The Meadows' prefabricated structure. They didn't want to wait until April 2009 for the nicer, permanent casino, which is expected to include 2,000 more machines, multiple restaurants, a racetrack betting operation, bowling alley and attached parking garage.
"I think the people in southwestern Pennsylvania have found their casino, and they've gravitated toward it in unbelievable numbers," said Sanford Rivers, a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board member from Churchill. "I've not heard the same kind of enthusiasm [from patrons] at some other casinos as I have at The Meadows."
Twenty-one months ago, the gaming board was skeptical of estimates by operators of The Meadows that the facility would eventually generate $215 million a year. A consultant told the board $123 million was more likely, which concerned board members as being insufficient for the facility to sustain itself, considering operating costs. Also, the state counts on taking 55 percent of that for property tax reduction, economic development and other purposes, so whenever the casino makes less money, the state does too.
The first-year revenue has exceeded even The Meadows' own estimates, although it does not yet have to compete with the Majestic Star casino in Pittsburgh, which is expected to open a year from now.
Mr. Rivers said the financial concerns have diminished, even allowing for the future competition. The bigger, permanent facility in North Strabane will help it retain customers, and he and the executives running The Meadows have come to believe there's plenty of gamblers to go around for all of the gambling sites.
"The figures will definitely go higher" once the new building opens, said Bill Paulos, principal of Las Vegas-based Cannery Casino Resorts, which owns The Meadows. "Right now, we're basically maxed out on weekends. We can't park any more people, and it's difficult to get in and out."
By aggressively offering bonuses of free slots play to its regular customers, the casino has also run at a brisk pace on many weekdays. At midday Wednesday, about 1,300 of the 1,825 machines were in use. No parking spaces were open within a few hundred yards of the entrance, and older patrons relied on shuttle buses circulating in the parking lot.
The Meadows gave away $2.4 million of free play in May to those who carry its club cards and insert them into machines while playing. Casinos commonly reward frequent players for loyalty in that manner, but the level of giveaways has become far greater than casino officials anticipated.
General Manager Mike Graninger said the expanded promotion, which erodes some of the casino's profit, is a reaction to the addition of table games late last year by the West Virginia casinos. The facilities fight for many of the same customers.
The casino has altered its slots floor since opening to recognize the preferences of its many older, traditional players, compared with those who patronize Cannery Casino Resorts properties in Las Vegas.
The Meadows replaced glitzy video-image machines with more options to play traditional spinning-reel slots. It also reduced the number of penny slots and video poker machines, while adding more higher-denomination slots, including a separate room for machines with $1 minimum wagers on up to those costing $25 a spin.
"There will always be adjustments," said Mike Jankowiak, director of slots operations, noting 180 of the original machines a year ago have been warehoused.

[fancy67]

does any body no if PA has any video poker that doubles up or down and if they got the king machine video poke or not

[WVRadar]

hi everyone clowndoctor here mike is my name and i play dd bonus vp and played at mountaineer and found myself playing at meadows more since they have vegas style machines..mountaineer has 10 quarter machines but when playing 5 quarters it only pays 1500 for a royal and 2000 for 4 aces w a kicker.meadows is ok but wondering if any of you clowns on here have been to wheeling downs in west virginia and know how the video poker is there???if so give me an update!!!!!thanks!!!!I live in West Virginia between Mountaineer and Wheeling Downs, but my wife and I always go to The Meadows to gamble.  When the West Virginia legislature passed the bill allowing gambling in the state, maximum payout on Video Poker and Slots was limited to 95%.  Makes it pretty tough to come out ahead.  I've been to all the casinos in West Virginia and it's the same everywhere.Both casinos still did pretty well, drawing a lot of people from Ohio and Pennsylvania.  But that was before both states passed their own gambling laws.The Meadows used to have better paytables.  I'm not a DDBonus player so I can't tell you anything about that game, but when the casino first opened almost all the quarter Jacks or Better machines were 8/5.  You really have to look around to find one of those now, as the newer machines are all 7/5.  Even a lot of the older machines are 7/5.Don't waste your time in the West Virginia casinos, The Meadows will at least give you a fighting chance.  That being said, it was just announced that the casino had accepted an offer from another company to buy them out.  If I remember correctly, the buyer is a Real Estate company and they plan to have another as yet unannounced company oversee the casino operation.  The news story said that if the sale is approved it won't be completed until sometime next year.