Live Poker Online Casino

Four live poker rooms are now open in Pennsylvania. The rooms where you can find live poker right now are:

  • DraftKings Casino games offer all the fun of the casino floor in the palm of your hand. Play a full roster of top online casino games from your Android or iOS Device anywhere online gambling is legal and DraftKings Casino is live. Getting started is easy — it just takes a few clicks to get in on the action.
  • Bovada is a popular poker online location for people from the U.S. It has a lot of opportunities for real online poker options for making money. It started out in 2011, and it has a real email and phone contact info so that you know it’s legit. People love the racebook and sportsbook options along with casino options, all from the same account.
  • Bravo Poker Live gives you access to the world’s best poker rooms, with ground-breaking new features including: Online Waiting List Sign-Up & Online Pre-Registration for in person tournaments!
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This online poker casino lets you play poker online for real money. It’s consistently rated as one of the best online poker sites for US players. The reason why it’s rated as one of the best online poker sites. RTP: varies depending on type of the poker game. Try our superb range of Live Poker tables, where you play casino rules – against the house instead of other players. With Hold ‘em, Stud and 3-card poker all.

  • Rivers Casino Philadelphia
  • Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
  • Mount Airy Casino
  • Mohegan Sun Pocono
  • Parx Casino

These four live poker rooms are currently closed:

  • The Meadows
  • Hollywood Casino
  • Presque Isle Downs
  • Wind Creek Casino

The WSOP poker room at Harrah’s Philadelphia permanently closed in November.

In the New Year, players will also have another live poker option in Philadelphia. Live! Casino and Hotel in Philly will open in early 2021, and a 29-table poker room should open with it, pending COVID-19 restrictions. PlayPennsylvania exclusively reported that according to workers at the new casino site, a Jan. 20 opening is planned.

We will continue to update casino and poker room closings and reopening plans at our live updates page here.

All casinos in PA set to reopen week of Jan. 4

Casinos in Pennsylvania reopening on Jan. 4 at 8 a.m.:

  • Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
  • The Meadows and Hollywood Casinoaccording to PennLive
  • Mount Airy Casino
  • Harrah’s Philadelphia
  • Wind Creek Bethlehem
  • Live! Casino Pittsburgh
  • Parx Casino (9 a.m.)
  • Mohegan Sun Pocono (10 a.m.)
  • Valley Forge Casino Resort ( 1 a.m.)
  • Rivers Casino Philadelphia (4 p.m.)

Opening on Tuesday, Jan. 5:

  • Presque Isle Downs & Casino at 4 p.m.

Opening on Friday, Jan 8:

  • Lady Luck Nemacolin at 9 a.m.

When casinos in PA reopen, they will still follow the COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols, which detail the minimum safety and health-related requirements that are mandatory before reopening.

All casinos and poker rooms ordered to close for three weeks

Gov. Wolf announced that mitigation restrictions put in place back on Dec. 12, including the closures of casinos, will be lifted Monday, January 4 at 8:00 a.m.

Parx poker room reopening in mid-December

Pennsylvania’s largest poker room announced a date for its long-awaited return. Parx Poker Room will reopen on Dec. 15 at 9.m. with all of its usual games and be open 24 hours. The news came via Parx’s website.

What’s up at Wind Creek’s poker room?

With 26 tables, Wind Creek Casino has one of the larger poker rooms in PA. A representative from Wind Creek told PlayPennsylvania they had no update on when the poker room would open.

A Wind Creek employee provided an update on some of the happenings at Wind Creek including the poker room. Read the full story here.

PA poker rooms opening one by one

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Other poker rooms in Pennsylvania could be reopening any day. According to a spokesperson for the PGCB, casinos submit plans and safety protocols for review. Once they receive final approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), they can reopen.

It’s positive news for poker players who have been waiting a long time to get back to live games. Casinos in Pennsylvania started shutting down to slow the spread of coronavirus in mid-March. They did not begin to welcome back guests until June, and poker rooms were not open due to the social nature of the game.

PlayPennsylvania has contacted poker room reps for Hollywood Casino, Wind Creek Casino, and Presque Isle Downs Casino but they had no concrete plans to share.

We will continue to update you here as more rooms open or set a date for reopening.

Live Poker returned to Rivers Philadelphia but closed again

Rivers Casino Philadelphia reopened its poker room on Oct. 23. It did so with approval for up to 14 tables with a capacity of 100 guests. Under normal circumstances, the room has 28 tables and offers a variety of poker games but now the action returned with primarily No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games.

According to a recent press release, in addition to the existing casino-wide safety measures, the following precautions are in effect for the poker room (when it is open):

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  • Masks must be worn at all times
  • Poker dealers will wear both a mask and a face shield
  • Each poker table in play will have plexiglass dividers, separating players and the dealer
  • A maximum of seven players allowed per table
  • Frequent and thorough cleaning of all cards, chips and surfaces
  • 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

Peter Longi, assistant general manager at Rivers Casino Philadelphia, commented:

“Poker players are excited to be back at the tables, enjoying the game they love. 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.”

To assist with social distancing, players are encouraged to call the poker room at 215-717-3883 to put their name on the waiting list when the room reopens. Guests can also check the Bravo Poker Live online or the website’s mobile app for the Rivers Casino poker room up-to-the-minute game status. In addition, players will have a chance to win their share of the $100,000 Bad Beat Jackpot. The minimum qualifying hand is quad 2s.

Rivers had to close its poker room once again along with the rest of the casino until at least Jan. 1, 2021.

Here’s a look at a poker table at Rivers Philadelphia:

Players pine for poker

When the PGCB released its casino reopening protocols in late May, part of them stated that poker rooms were not authorized to operate due to players’ handling of cards and chips. They also said poker room operations would be re-examined based on changes in the CDC’s and PA Department of Health’s guidance.

On June 9, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh was the first to welcome back visitors. When asked when poker rooms would return, PGCB Director of Communication Doug Harbach said poker rooms present a different type of challenge since people are sitting close together in a room. He said at the time:

“The casinos want to walk before they run and make sure they are getting the venue open and then move on to opening up other areas once they know the protocols are working well.”

PokerStars, the state’s lone online poker site, has posted healthy numbers in PA, but players are still pining for in-person play.

Harbach gave this update to PlayPennsylvania in late August about poker rooms in Pennsylvania:

“There has been no alteration to the casino reopening protocols released by the Gaming Control Board in May in which poker rooms were not authorized to operate. At the same time, this guideline can be reexamined based on health experts’ guidance. Should casinos wish to explore reopening a casino room, it would need to provide plans to do so safely, which would be reviewed by the board on a case-by-case basis.”

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Poker is back in New Jersey, too

New Jersey also had a long poker pause. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa reopened its poker room, the largest in the state, on Oct. 21. The room is operating with 30 socially distanced tables. It’s about a third of the room’s 85 tables when operating at full capacity.

The Bellagio in Las Vegas opened its poker room in June. Nevada state guidelines mandated five-handed play in rooms without dividers or plexiglass partitions. However, the Bellagio’s request for six-handed poker games with partitions was approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Other poker rooms in Nevada have also reopened with virus protocols in place.

When will poker rooms in Pennsylvania reopen?

Play Pennsylvania will continue to provide updates here as more casinos announce plans and reopen live poker.

Hollywood Casino live poker update

Currently closed.

Information about Hollywood Casino Poker Room:

  • 17 tables
  • Monday nights, $200 high hand, every 30 minutes; Wednesdays and Thursdays, $200 high hand, every 30 minutes; Fridays, $500 high hand, every 30 minutes; Sundays, hourly high hand prizes.
  • Bad Beat Jackpot
  • Weekly Rack Back Bonus

The Meadows live poker update

The Meadows poker room opened on Oct. 23 with daily hours of 11 a.m. – 1 a.m.

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Welcome back Poker Players! pic.twitter.com/9X66QuZqXp

— Meadows Casino (@MeadowsCasino) October 23, 2020

Information about The Meadows Poker Room:

  • 14 tables
  • Live games such as Texas hold’em and Omaha every day
  • Progressive bad beat

Mount Airy Casino live poker update

Mount Airy’s poker room reopened on Oct. 16 and is open 24 hours.

Information about Mount Airy Casino Poker Room:

  • 12 tables
  • Games such as Texas hold’em, Omaha and stud

Mohegan Sun Pocono live poker update

Mohegan Sun Pocono’s poker room reopened on Oct. 16.

Information about Mohegan Sun Pocono Poker Room:

  • Eight tables
  • Daily tournaments feature no-limit Texas hold’em and Bounty tournaments
  • Offering a Bad Beat Jackpot for BOTH cash and tournament play
  • Each day, $25 added to the Royal Flush Jackpot for each of the four suites

Parx live poker update

Parx sent out an email in mid-November saying they were finalizing plans but hoped to re-open poker “before the end of December.”

Information about the Parx Casino Poker Room:

  • 80 tables — the most in PA
  • The room offers a variety of no-limit hold’em games (from $1-$2 up to $10-$25), limit hold’em ($3-6 up to $30-$60), pot-limit Omaha, Omaha eight or better and a variety of mixed and draw games
  • Weekly tournaments. Major tournament: Parx Big Stax

Presque Isle Downs live poker update

The poker room is currently closed.

Information about Presque Isle Downs Poker Room:

  • Seven tables
  • Games like hold’em and Omaha. Also offering multitable and single-table tournaments (sit and go’s)

Rivers Casino Philadelphia live poker update

Rivers Philadelphia reopened poker on Oct. 23. But it is closed once again as of Nov. 20 along with the casino to comply with city orders. It could reopen as soon as Jan. 1.

Cards are in the air! Welcome back players! $200 high hands are on every hour 24/7 all of October! Call 215-717-3883 to reserve your seat. pic.twitter.com/MwcxTABsNM

— Rivers Philadelphia Poker Room (@riverspokerphl) October 23, 2020

Information about Rivers Casino Philadelphia Poker Room:

  • 28 tables
  • Rivers offers a wide variety of poker games, including, but not limited, to Texas hold’em, Omaha-high, Omaha-hi/lo split eight or better, seven-card stud high, seven-card stud low, seven-card stud hi/lo split and seven-card stud hi/lo split eight or better.
  • Poker promotions and tournaments listed on site when available.

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh live poker update

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh opened on Nov. 11. And beginning Nov. 16, Rivers Pittsburgh will operate 24/7, according to their twitter.

We are excited to announce that the Poker Room will be opening on Wednesday, November 11th at 4PM. We can’t wait to welcome you back!

Learn more about what you can expect and current hours: https://t.co/heQ3qJyQbV

Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler pic.twitter.com/FjgJY2cC7v

— Rivers Casino Pittsburgh (@WinBigRivers) November 10, 2020

Information about Rivers Casino Pittsburgh Poker Room:

  • 30 tables
  • Poker promotions and tournaments listed on site when available

Wind Creek Bethlehem live poker update

Wind Creek poker room remains closed.

Information about Wind Creek Bethlehem Poker Room:

  • 26 tables
  • Variety of games such as limit and no-limit Texas hold ’em, stud and Omaha. Limits starting at $3 and $6
  • Automated shufflers on every poker game
  • Bad Beat Jackpot available daily
  • Massage service

Lady Luck Nemacolin and Valley Forge do not have poker rooms. PlayPennsylvania exclusively reported that Harrah’s Philadelphia closed its WSOP-branded room in August.

More online poker operators coming to PA

PokerStars arrived in Pennsylvania in November 2019 and has been the state’s only operator for 11 months. Partypoker was rumored to be coming in the early fall, but like most party plans in 2020, it hasn’t happened.

Last week, the PGCB approved Caesars‘ online poker partner 888 Holdings for an interactive gaming manufacturer license. 888 Poker was the No. 1 poker website in the country last year. It has a self-branded poker platform, and its software powers World Series of Poker (WSOP) online and mobile sites.

It seems only a matter of time before both partypoker and WSOP.com make their way to PA.

Health and safety at PA casinos

Here are a few things you should know in case you have not been to a casino since they reopened. Per the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, all casinos in the state must follow the COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols, which detail the minimum safety and health-related requirements that are mandatory before reopening.

Casinos may also choose to have additional measures, such as temperature checks at the entrance.

Key points to remember are:

  • Casinos can reopen at 50% capacity. (Rivers Casino Philadelphia is open at 25%.)
  • Employees and guests must wear masks.
  • There must be markings on the floor to promote social distancing.
  • Enhanced cleaning is required throughout the facility.

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In addition, there is a current pause on smoking at casinos, no drink service on the gaming floor and no sitting at the bar.

Be sure to check back often as we continue to post updates on PA poker room reopenings here.

Lead image of Meadows poker room via AP Photo/Keith Srakocic.

When it comes to online casinos, all websites offer poker games, but there are two main types; live casino poker games and traditional online poker games. While both are fun to play, many believe that live casino poker games are much more fun to play, and here’s why.

Live Casino And How It Works

Live casino is a type of casino game which features a real-life dealer who is streamed directly to you over the internet and from a specialised live casino studio. Rather than playing against the computer, you’ll be playing against other real players and a real dealer.

These games follow all the rules of traditional games, but the main difference is you’re playing with real people over the internet rather than by yourself. In addition, they will have timed windows for players to place bets to keep the game fast-paced for all users. This website provides a more in-depth on the basics of live dealer gambling as well as how bonuses work in a live environment.

Why Live Casino Poker Is Better

Many believe that live casino poker games are better than traditional online poker games, mostly because they offer a much more social experience. Playing with real people online is much more fun than playing by yourself against a computer, and since all live casino games feature a chat room, you’ll be able to interact with all other players and the dealer themselves who respond via the stream.

In addition, live casino poker games tend to have more unique and fun variations than traditional online poker games. These variations, while mostly the same, will alter gameplay mechanics, the design of a casino game or offer additional betting options which aren’t usually available in the ordinary online counterparts.

What’s more, some online casinos will offer specialised live casino promotions which you can specifically use on live casino poker games. This offers another great incentive for you to play live casino poker!

Finally, most online casinos licensed in the UK now offer live casino games, including live poker! This means that you can easily register with an online casino and begin playing live variations of your favourite poker games, what more could you want?

Is Traditional Online Poker Still Worth Playing?

Yes. Although many believe that live casino poker games are generally better, it’s still well worth playing traditional online poker titles as well, particularly because live casino games can sometimes fill up quickly, meaning you’ll have to wait until another user leaves before you can join.

There are plenty of online poker games for you to enjoy, all of which are based on games found at brick-and-mortar casinos. Just remember that you’ll be playing alone and against a computer rather than with several other real people.

Figuring Out What’s Best For You

If you’re an avid traditional online poker player, we suggest you give live casino poker games a try to see if they’re something you enjoy. If you’re completely new to online poker, we suggest you try both traditional and live casino poker games and decide on which type of online poker game you prefer.

Regardless of what you do prefer, online casinos in the UK generally offer enough poker content to keep you entertained and busy, so go ahead and start playing!

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