Rivers Casino Philadelphia Reopens Its Live Poker Room

The only live poker room in the Philadelphia re-opened its doors to customers Friday.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia, one of nine live poker rooms in Pennsylvania, reopened after being closed since the March 15 shutdown to slow the coronavirus spread, according to a news release. The casino’s gaming floor had reopened on July 17.

The Borgata poker room in Atlantic City reopened on Wednesday (the first one to do so in New Jersey). Two other poker rooms in Pennsylvania — at the Mount Airy Casino and at the Mohegan Sun Pocono — reopened on Oct. 16.

The Rivers poker room will run up to 14 tables with a maximum capacity of approximately 100 guests, with action primarily on No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games, according to the news release.

New Safety Measures

The following safety protocols and precautions will be in effect, according to the release:

Masks must be worn at all times, with poker dealers wearing both a mask and a face shield.

Each table in play (maximum of seven per table) will have plexiglass dividers, separating players and the dealer.

Frequent and thorough cleaning of all cards, chips and surfaces will be implemented as 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.

Other PA Poker Rooms

The other major poker rooms in the state are: Hollywood Casino in PA (17 tables); The Meadows (14); Mohegan Sun Pocono (8, reopened Oct. 16); Mount Airy (12, reopened Oct. 16); Parx (80, largest in state); Presque Isle Downs (7); Rivers Casino Pittsburgh (30) and Wind Creek Bethlehem (26).

“Poker players are excited to be back at the tables, enjoying the game they love," Peter Longi, assistant general manager at Rivers Casino Philadelphia, said in a news release. “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.”

Players will have a chance to win their share of the $100,000 Bad Beat Jackpot. The minimum qualifying hand is quad 2s.