A visit to a near empty casino

[Paman]

Haven't posted in sometime due to work, but had to post this observation. Tuesday evening had a late afternoon/evening meeting that was near The Meadows outside of Pittsburgh. Now I pretty much stopped gambling there since Penn Gaming took over operations and the last time I was at the Meadows was last November to watch the harness races. I got to the casino Tuesday around 9:00 pm to a empty parking garage with the front lot pretty much empty as well. I entered the casino and I swear I was the only person in the property. It was absolutely empty. Let me put it this way I walked to the far side near the high limit room and it was me and 1 lady in an area with 900 empty slot machines. As I walked around I decided to do a head count, from one side of the casino to the other side I counted 92 people total in a casino with 2,500 machines. The table game area had 2 blackjack tables, 1 craps table and nothing else open. I am just stunned by how empty the place was considering what use to be a vibrant operation even on a weekday night. With that said I am not surprised whatsoever due to what Penn Gaming has done to kill a once good casino. They changed the comp point system to where you get 1 point for every (I believe) $5.00 bet, there is no promos, no excitement, nothing.
I stated this when Penn took over, give it 1 year and you will see a dead casino, I was right. I saw one of the only slot attendants walking by and stated the place is a little dead, she look at me, shook her head and kept walking.

I started playing Buffalo and lost $40.00 in a matter of minutes, I ended up getting a bonus with 2 re-triggers total win $12.40. I did have a good win on a old school Great Eagle Returns getting the bonus that paid $82.00 on a .50 bet. Otherwise I lost $200.00 in 45 minutes.

If anyone from Penn Gaming is reading this you need to wake the hell up because you will be closing your doors if you don't change things. People in the Pittsburgh area are flocking to Wheeling Island, The Rivers, Mahoning Valley, Mountainair Casino even Nemacolin Resorts which is not an easy drive because they are getting free rooms and better offers, something Penn Gaming killed.

Paman

[kmc7]

I was there during the renovations this winter and expierienced the same thing. I used to go to the meadows regularly years ago and got damn nice comps there and decent free play offers. The slot floor used to be one the best too. Well not anymore. Ironically we got a slot offer today for 10 dollars. It used to be alot more back in the day. Needless to say I won't be back in a while. It won't get any easier for the meadows either as a proposed casino will be opening at Westmorland Mall not far away. Gamblers are getting smarter. Soon the places that are greedy will be selling or closing!

[Kuda]

That is a shame the big wigs get so greedy they kill the goilden goose. If you want people to come you have to offer them something in return. I hope the big wigs see the light before it is too late.

[Bettin Man]

We see the same thing at Wind Creek in Bethlehem, Pa.now that they purchased it from The Sands. What used to be $ 100 + per week in free play, free dinners, and give aways, is now $ 5.00 a week in free play.. $ 5.00 !!!!!!!

I'm now a weekly regular at Mt.Airy casino in the Poconos ( 38 miles away ) and have monthly free play totaling $ 990.00, a giveaway almost every week, and I consistently win.... Almost all of the regulars I saw weekly at the Sands I now see on my visits up North. I would arrive at the Sands on Thursdays around 5:00 am , park on level 2 right up against the front elevators and be playing in 5 minutes or less.. They have now made level 2 exclusive parking for the upper echelon card holders and I was winding up on levels 4-6 now, with a long walk to the elevators. There is never more than 15-20 cars on level 2 any time you go. And all this for $ 5.00.

Nope, I had enough !! I hope they know what they can do with that FIVER !!!!

[Kuda]

It is a shame that the big wig corporate idiots just don't get it anymore. Like you said Andy when you get good offers and now they are insulting you with $5, that is pathetic. Good luck everyone.

[thelma]

The Meadows has more problems now than just lousy offers. People have been complaining about them for a while and it seems they've done nothing but ignore the warnings. I guess they thought the addicted would always return and that the addicted would be enough to turn a profit on. ?

@Bettin Man mentioned Wind Creek Bethlehem formerly Sands. Sands had been moving towards favoring table games over slots; the floor became more and more dedicated to tables as time went on, and they courted bus traffic too. The rewards at Sands were always average but Wind Creek's are a step down.
Now... I agree that Wind Creek doesn't seem to have the amount of players that Sands had -especially the Sands of old, when things were novel. Sands was also losing players in the near past, based on personal observation.
WC has also changed the floor so that one side is all non-smoking and the smoking side was busy last TH night while the NS side had a paucity of players.

Comparing them to Parx in Bensalem, Parx was also a busy place, with good promos and offers. Parx hasn't lowered their offers, in fact, they seem to have gotten better. But even so, lately I've noticed the floor isn't as busy as it used to be.
These casinos have two things to offer: gambling, and some restaurants. (Maybe some decent bands on some nights, too, so that might be three things).
Why has the traffic decreased?

I'm chalking it up to Pennsylvania going live with online gambling a short time ago. People have gotten a taste of online slotting with an avg RTP of ~95%. This can't help but take traffic away from these types of Brick and Mortar casinos: non-destination 'slot parlours' basically.
Parx will reap from this because they have a licensed online casino which adds monthly revenue. Wind Creek doesn't and this will hurt them. The Meadows doesn't either although Penn owns Hollywood which does have an online casino site. The Meadows will bleed them though, no matter the extra revenue Hollywood OL brings in. The Meadows won't last in this climate.

The world is changing and if PA casinos ignore the impact of online gambling (meaning: get in on the action and reap easy money), they'll fold. This will also be the case for most states' casinos as it won't be long before most will legalize to pad the statehouse coffers.

Caveat: online slotting has ruined the Brick and Mortar experience for me - other than the destination casinos where I'm there for more than the machines.

[feelinlucky?]

I haven't set foot in a casino in about four months. Last time was November 1st and we had a terrible time. In addition to the super tight slots, the food was lousy and the place was dirty. I don't know what they are trying to prove but I no longer care to be part of the picture. I will keep my ear to the ground and hope things change but for now bye - bye, casino greedsters. Greed in all of its forms is a terrible detriment to society.

[thelma]

Well... I looked at the revenue reports for The Meadows and it's bad news. Their revenue is still coming in so there must be a lot of addicted people still showing up. That means they have no incentive to change.
Also, look at the Promotional Plays... SOMEONE is getting offers (but who?!?).

It looks like the Hold there is about 9-10%.
And look at greedy PA with their tax (34%!) and added fees...







Fiscal Year numbers for a long comparison:

[cococrisp]

Hollywood Casino in Columbus, OH is a ghost town now. Everyone hates the Penn National Gaming experience.