Rivers Casino

Gambling debuts here today with the opening of a $780 million gambling hall on the North Shore, adding to Pittsburgh's steady makeover from grit to glitz. The opening of the Rivers Casino makes Pittsburgh the largest city to date to have a casino in revenue-hungry, gambling-happy Pennsylvania. That designation could have belonged to Philadelphia, which might be a year or more away from having a casino even though two have been approved since December 2006. Rivers Casino features a glass facade overlooking the Ohio River, a limestone step amphitheater leading to a boat dock on the water with seating for 1,200, and river trails with public access for bikers and joggers.

Problems for the fledgling Rivers Casino in downtown Pittsburgh continue. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board filed a complaint Wednesday against its owner, Holdings Acquisition Co. L.P., demanding that the casino make its first $7.5 million payment toward the Pittsburgh Penguins' new $325 million arena. The complaint was filed by the gaming board's Office of Investigations and Enforcement. A chief concern is whether the lack of payment will cause financial hardship for the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which is building the NHL team's arena.

PITTSBURGH - Crowds gathered around roulette wheels and croupiers in prime casino space Thursday as table games debuted in Western Pennsylvania, seemingly without a hitch. The first-day turnout at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington County, and Presque Isle Downs & Casino near Erie was, casino operators and state regulators agreed, an auspicious beginning. Gambling halls in the Poconos, near Harrisburg, and in the Philadelphia area will introduce table games within the next 10 days.

Turns out the Parx Casino doesn't have a monopoly on gamblers abandoning kids in cars. A couple left three kids in a minivan last week while they gambled inside a Pittsburgh casino. A 10-month-old girl, a 3-year-old boy, and a 10-year-old boy were left alone for 45 minutes while a Washington County couple gambled in the Rivers Casino. A passerby alerted security. The couple were charged with child endangerment and leaving an unattended child in a vehicle. The children were placed in the care of youth services.

Near the point where its two mighty rivers converge, the city once known for steel yesterday took a flier on a new industry: gambling. The opening of the $780 million Rivers Casino here made Pittsburgh the largest city in Pennsylvania to have a gambling hall and brought the total number of operating casinos statewide to nine. Five more casinos have yet to open, including two in Philadelphia. "I want to thank all of you here and all of the citizens of Pittsburgh," said Neil Bluhm, the Chicago billionaire developer who took over Rivers Casino a year ago and is also majority owner of the planned SugarHouse Casino for the Philadelphia waterfront.

PITTSBURGH - It was time to fold 'em or roll 'em. "Welcome to Pennsylvania table games," said Benjamin Hetrick, head of security, summoning the waiting crowd into the middle of the gaming floor at the Rivers Casino here. After six months of buildup, such games as poker, roulette and blackjack were making their state debuts this morning at three Western Pennsylvania casinos. At 6 a.m., Rivers Casino on the North Shore launched 85 table games, while the Meadows Racetrack and Casino, 15 miles south of downtown Pittsburgh, was ready with 68. "We believe our new layout maximizes the energy and fun table games provide," said the Meadow's vice president and general manager Sean Sullivan.

Let the games begin! Long before Gov. Rendell's signature was affixed yesterday to legislation legalizing table games in Pennsylvania, casino owners were strategizing how to reconfigure their gaming floors, how many games they would start with, and how many and which new positions to fill. Now, they have the green light. "Now, it's action time," said Bob Green, chairman of Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc., owner and operator of Pennsylvania's most profitable gambling hall, PhiladelphiaPark Casino & Racetrack in Bensalem.

For table-game patrons like Jesse Torres, the arrival of poker, craps, roulette, and other games to Pennsylvania's casinos later this year will mean no longer commuting to the Mountain State. "I'll stay in Pennsylvania when it gets table games," said the 64-year-old retired steelworker as he stood in line to play roulette late last month at Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center here. Since Gov. Rendell signed off on adding table games last month to help balance this year's budget, Pennsylvania's casino operators have wasted no time in holding job fairs to hire dealers, cocktail servers, and other essential staff.

Saidel aide: No recount yet Secretary of State Pedro Cortes said the recount will start next week in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor unless former City Controller Jonathan Saidel waves it off. The latest figures from last week's primary show Saidel trailing Centre County state Rep. Scott Conklin by fewer than 3,862 votes, which triggers an automatic recount unless Saidel doesn't want it. Cortes said a recount could cost taxpayers...

Carolann C. Howe of Warminster was spending more time at Parx Casino in Bucks County, but she said she was gambling hundreds of dollars less per month. "I don't have the money," said the 61-year-old retiree. Instead, Howe said, she relies more on free slots play from the casino, $60 to $80 worth of coupons a week, and her occasional winnings to keep coming back. "Whenever I win, I spread that out," Howe said on Friday, while working the penny slot machine at Parx. National gross gambling revenues fell to $30.7 billion in 2009, a decrease of 5.5 percent from 2008 because of gamblers like Howe.

PITTSBURGH - I'm a quacker. My wife, Pat, isn't. But we enjoyed the 60-minute land-water excursion aboard the duckies that tour Pittsburgh, where passengers are encouraged to quack as loudly as possible. (Philadelphia's Ride the Ducks tours are similar.) We were a noisy crew, quacking our way through the heart of the onetime Steel City. Yes, it was a little kitschy, but the kids aboard loved it. Pittsburgh is a city of 311,000 with a compact and very walkable downtown, world-class museums, distinctive architecture, a strong cultural scene, excellent shopping, cutting-edge galleries, 89 distinct neighborhoods, high-quality restaurants, and a strong industrial history that is being celebrated.

Turns out the Parx Casino doesn't have a monopoly on gamblers abandoning kids in cars. A couple left three kids in a minivan last week while they gambled inside a Pittsburgh casino. A 10-month-old girl, a 3-year-old boy, and a 10-year-old boy were left alone for 45 minutes while a Washington County couple gambled in the Rivers Casino. A passerby alerted security. The couple were charged with child endangerment and leaving an unattended child in a vehicle. The children were placed in the care of youth services.

It is not faint praise to say that the most striking aspect of the interior of the soon-to-open SugarHouse Casino is the spectacularly inventive use of the exceedingly tight 45,000 square feet. The colors (red, turquoise, and gold) are vivid, the ambience clean and relaxing, and the patterned ceiling origami-like. Walls are oddly but pleasantly angled. But in a space about one-fourth the size of a typical full-service casino, SugarHouse squeezes in 1,602 slot machines and 40 table games and makes it stylish, not cramped.

PITTSBURGH - Crowds gathered around roulette wheels and croupiers in prime casino space Thursday as table games debuted in Western Pennsylvania, seemingly without a hitch. The first-day turnout at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington County, and Presque Isle Downs & Casino near Erie was, casino operators and state regulators agreed, an auspicious beginning. Gambling halls in the Poconos, near Harrisburg, and in the Philadelphia area will introduce table games within the next 10 days.

PITTSBURGH - It was time to fold 'em or roll 'em. "Welcome to Pennsylvania table games," said Benjamin Hetrick, head of security, summoning the waiting crowd into the middle of the gaming floor at the Rivers Casino here. After six months of buildup, such games as poker, roulette and blackjack were making their state debuts this morning at three Western Pennsylvania casinos. At 6 a.m., Rivers Casino on the North Shore launched 85 table games, while the Meadows Racetrack and Casino, 15 miles south of downtown Pittsburgh, was ready with 68. "We believe our new layout maximizes the energy and fun table games provide," said the Meadow's vice president and general manager Sean Sullivan.

Saidel aide: No recount yet Secretary of State Pedro Cortes said the recount will start next week in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor unless former City Controller Jonathan Saidel waves it off. The latest figures from last week's primary show Saidel trailing Centre County state Rep. Scott Conklin by fewer than 3,862 votes, which triggers an automatic recount unless Saidel doesn't want it. Cortes said a recount could cost taxpayers...

Carolann C. Howe of Warminster was spending more time at Parx Casino in Bucks County, but she said she was gambling hundreds of dollars less per month. "I don't have the money," said the 61-year-old retiree. Instead, Howe said, she relies more on free slots play from the casino, $60 to $80 worth of coupons a week, and her occasional winnings to keep coming back. "Whenever I win, I spread that out," Howe said on Friday, while working the penny slot machine at Parx. National gross gambling revenues fell to $30.7 billion in 2009, a decrease of 5.5 percent from 2008 because of gamblers like Howe.

Carolann C. Howe of Warminster was spending more time at Parx Casino in Bucks County, but she said she was gambling hundreds of dollars less per month. "I don't have the money," said the 61-year-old retiree. Instead, Howe said, she relies more on free slots play from the casino, $60 to $80 worth of coupons a week, and her occasional winnings to keep coming back. "Whenever I win, I spread that out," Howe said on Friday, while working the penny slot machine at Parx. National gross gambling revenues fell to $30.7 billion in 2009, a decrease of 5.5 percent from 2008 because of gamblers like Howe.

For table-game patrons like Jesse Torres, the arrival of poker, craps, roulette, and other games to Pennsylvania's casinos later this year will mean no longer commuting to the Mountain State. "I'll stay in Pennsylvania when it gets table games," said the 64-year-old retired steelworker as he stood in line to play roulette late last month at Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center here. Since Gov. Rendell signed off on adding table games last month to help balance this year's budget, Pennsylvania's casino operators have wasted no time in holding job fairs to hire dealers, cocktail servers, and other essential staff.

There was plenty of room to play inside Rivers Casino on a recent weeknight. The $780 million casino, which debuted six months ago on the North Shore waterfront as Pennsylvania's costliest slots parlor and its first in an urban setting, has struggled against nearby competition from the Meadows Racetrack & Casino and two established West Virginia gambling halls. "You get better comps in Atlantic City and at the Meadows," said Phyllis Sanguigni, who lives on the North Side just minutes from Rivers and is typically at the casino a few times a week to play slots.