Pennsylvania - American Casino Guide Casino Reviews

The Rivers Casino: Tired of Complaints

Certified Gambler — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:26:24 +0100

You know, for all you people who've been here "more than 10 times" and COMPLAIN......two words for you: GO ELSEWHERE! I've gambled in PA, WV, NY, DE, NV and yes...I even gambled in homes across PA. If I didn't like the way things were going, I'd leave. SO, if the gaming sucks somewhere, don't complain, just STAY AWAY. You ruin it for someone who wants to go have fun but runs scared because of your snipping!

As for you all who enjoyed your stay, CUDOS! You have a few minor complaints but nothing where you tell everyone to stay away.

As for me, I'll be gambling in EVERY place I can as long as I have 2 nickels to rub together, whether they PAY OUT or NOT!

P.S. I only rated the Table Games a 1 for one reason....I prefer LIVE dealers!

The Rivers Casino: Tight Machines

Brandi — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:25:55 +0100

It is ridiculous to lose $200 in 30 minutes. Yet that happened to me on two occasions at the Rivers!

First time shame on you, second time shame on me. I will never return or play at the Rivers casino again. I hope that when new management takes over after bankruptcy they consider loosening the slots so patrons have more fun.

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The Rivers Casino: A Nice Place for those In Pittsburgh

Christopher — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:19:53 +0100

I have been to the casino about 10 to 15 times since it has open its door in August, and overall it is not that bad of a place. One thing that I found most impressive is the interior feels more like Las Vegas than Wheeling or Meadows. I recently returned from Atlantic City and found Rivers more impressive than the Boardwalk Casinos (Showboat, Resort, Any Trump Hotels) etc. But it still does not even come close to actually Las Vegas.

Food is simply not up to par: the buffet food overall was par and the price based on the selection was a little too high, Andrews Steak House (the steak restaurant, about $30-50 per plate with Ala Carte Menu) was so-so, I had better meals up on Mt Washington and so forth. As for bar drinks, I found them to be average price especially being in the city. Bartenders and servers have been for the most part friendly, but sometimes it is difficult to get a drink from them when it is NOT BUSY (To me, they are usually out more on the floor on the weekends, but on the weekdays it may take them twenty minutes or so to come around).

The casino floor and the restrooms are always clean and that I find little wait on most machines (except for the electronic blackjack or roulette tables, which I wait anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes for an open seat). One neat thing is that they have free complementary beverages stands (pops, sodas, coffees, etc.) throughout the casino.

While most of the comments here are individuals complaining that slots are "too tight", I have walk out of the Rivers some nights with over $800 and some nights I lost my bankroll for the evening. While payout percentage does play an important factor, it is always based on your bankroll and level of play. To give you an idea of the type of playing I do: Bring around $200, play 5 cent, 25 cent, and 1 dollar machines. I also play all machines on max bet ($2.25 for nickels ((9 lines at 5)), $1.25 for quarters ((5 lines at 25 each)), and $5 on dollar ((5 lines at 1 each). Just remember that slots are random and that payout figures (85 cents for every dollar) does not mean every machine does that; it means that for every dollar that Rivers takes in it must pay out 85 cents. I cant wait for the tables to come in the next year� so i can stop playing slots.

I do have agree with the one post that the rivers promotional card and club are sub par compared to the other casinos around Western Pennsylvania. I currently only go down on Tuesdays for 6x points to hopefully earn by Black Card to get access to the 466 club (signature drinks that would cost $10-$20 elsewhere are only $2).

Overall, it is a nice place to hang out in the evening with a group of friends if you don't want to really gamble. If you do want to gamble, then all I can say is the best of luck to you and hopefully your at the right machine at the right time!

The Rivers Casino: first time ever at casino loved it

tina — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:05:16 +0100

oct 26 09
It was the first time I ever went to a casino and I loved the slots. We went on a bus tour down and they gave us 25 dollars on the player card and a free buffet. Which was wonderful. I only brought 20 extra dollars and I came home with over a 100 bucks, just from playing the 1 cent, 2 cents, and 25 cents slots. I went to have a good time, win or lose and we did. I have been reading reviews on casinos and most are not very nice but its a chance to win or lose and you should go and have a good time. I hope this helps some people make up their minds to go and visit. You do not have to have alot of money to go and have a good time we will go again.

Presque Isle Downs and Casino: NOT VERY GOOD

Mark — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:41:55 +0100

The first thing that you notice about Presque Isle Downs is the giant landfill right by the Casino so depending on which way the wind is blowing you might get a nice smell on the way in from the parking lot. This Casino is totally setup the wrong way. They have the smoking section right up front by the entrance to the Casino. When you go in you are overcome with cigarette smoke and can see a fog in the air. The ventilation system is obviously inadequate. I have seen cleaner air out in packed bars that allow smoking. Be aware that all of your clothes will be reeking of smoke by the time that you leave.
Once through the cloud of smoke, the slot machines are the same as at any other Casino except I never won or saw anybody else win the entire time I was there. Also the machines were very tight and packed close together, it's worse than any other casino that I have ever been to. The Video BlackJack dealers are a joke for anyone who has ever played BlackJack with a real dealer at any other casino. The staff was nice. The food was average.
Overall I would not visit this casino again and I wouldn't recommend that anyone waste a trip to come here. They totally messed up this one. There are MUCH better casinos in Salamanca, NY, Niagara Falls, and in Windsor.

The Rivers Casino: What a disappointment!

Ed Owens — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:15:36 +0100

We're no casual slots players. Within the year we've visited Casinos in Arizona (2), Las Vegas (17) and all of Pennsylvania's casinos (except Mount Airy). We were in line at The Rivers Casino's opening day. We've returned a number of times. We've never won there. Nothing!

We've had some good luck at many of the casinos we've visited. Even the ones we've only visited once.
Yet, The Rivers seems impossible to even break even. Since we like playing the slots, we keep a close eye on the revenues generated at ALL of Pennsylvania's casinos.
(The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's web site maintains weekly lists of revenues of all of the states casinos)
The Rivers, while it has the second highest number of machines in the state, frequently ranks near the bottom in revenue.
AND IT'S ALWAYS AT THE BOTTOM IN THE AREA OF PROMOTIONAL PLAY! (and that includes smaller casinos like Presque Isle, which has a thousand fewer machines)

Sure, it's a nice looking venue. But minus any fair shot of winning anything - it's not worth it. We'll probably stay at the less attractive, but more generous Meadows!

The Rivers Casino: Generic Casino

blake j — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:35:28 +0100

This casino is one big mess, 1st of all you have to search just to find certain denominations machines all mixed together. Also if you play the machine close to the max it will take all your money, seems to me this place is managed all wrong. Better get their act together or it wont be around for long. If this is what Pittsburgh has to offer. They are in for a crash landing with this place.

JOKE !!!!!

The Rivers Casino: This is highway robbery.....

Sean George — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:50:14 +0100

I have played slots all across the U.S. and know of only one casino with tighter machines. I have visited The Rivers over ten times and studied the trends closely. These machines rarely allow you to get ahead. There have been few times when I was playing with the casinos money, it was always mine as the machine systematically eroded my bankroll. I would never take any friends there and will not return myself. I believe the level of greed on the part of the casino is second to none and will be their undoing.

The Rivers Casino: Can't wait to return!

rob — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:52:34 +0100

Visited this new facility late-night/overnight on a Sunday in August. MAGNIFICENT place! Great selection of machines (many newer games!) and the employees overall are TOP NOTCH - very friendly and really made me feel welcome and a valued customer!

My intent was to just play a few hours, but I was having so much fun while riding the "winning streak" I ended up staying & playing for nearly twelve hours!! At one point I was ahead almost $500 - playing penny slots (and a few nickel machines).

The place is CLEAN, SMOKE-FREE, and rivals the larger casinos in Vegas. Biggest drawbacks: there's no place to get a bite to eat that's open overnight, and the cafe is expensive for breakfast.

No Table games (but I understand they ARE coming), and they need to rework their food comp formula: I would expect that $1,000 coin-in would garner MORE than just $3 in food comp $$$.

The Player's Club personnel were impersonal, unfriendly, and worst of all: uninformative. I would expect these people to know their Player's Club policies, promotions, and FreePlay/Bonus Bucks' system - AND be able to explain it to their customers! (I will give then some leeway, as I visited near the end of a shift, but it's still no excuse for treating a new customer poorly and not being able to answer simple questions!)

I very much look forward to my next visit to Pittsburgh and playing at The Rivers!!

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The Rivers Casino: Ehhh, overall take it or leave it

Matt — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:14:38 +0100

Having returned to Pittsburgh after living in Florida for 10 years, I was excited to hear that Pgh was opening a casino. One of my favorite things to do was run to Tampa (nearly 1 hour away) with 20 bucks and waste some time playing the slots. Throughout the course of a year's time, I came out ahead $1,000+ from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, great times.

But don't think you can have fun at the Rivers with $20.....

After visiting the Rivers casino, I have spent well over $500 in only 3 visits and nothing...well, that's not true, the first trip there I spent $100 and won $200 (so basically $100) but since then nothing. I've tried the .01, .05, .25 and $1.00 machines and even when I did when, I wasn't winning the amount back that I put into the bet.

As for their Customer Service, I have not had one person say even one word to me yet, not the valet, not the Players Club personnel...and don't even get me started on the staff walking around taking drink orders. I made direct eye contact with one of the girls and held up a $50, she walked over, asked 2 people around me if they wanted a drink, then walked away??!!?? WTF

My advice is this...if you are looking to waste an afternoon or evening and basically throw your money away, then pay a visit to the Rivers Casino, otherwise, call me and give me $100�and pick a number between 1 and 100, your odds of winning are about the same :)

Big mistake with this place, I'll take the drive elsewhere, it will be worth it.

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