Mt. Airy Casino in Mt. Pocono, PA – Poker Room Review

I must be honest in giving Mt. Airy Casino a bad review when it comes to their poker room. Though parking is not a problem and the casino in general is just as nice as many others I’ve been to, their poker room is sorely lacking.

There are only 6 tables available and while the seats are comfortable the location is not. The Mt. Airy poker room is actually set in a small room immediately off the casino floor, located in an extremely noisy area of machines. The noise which enters the room is immediately returned from the back wall of the room that only amplifies the volume. It didn’t take long before I had a headache.

The location is the biggest detriment. Because of the limited space, there is no physical barrier between the players and passers by on the floor. The only thing that seperates you from those on the casino floor is a retractable rope system that is almost touching a player who is seated closest to the entrance of the room. Passers by who stop and watch are quite literally looking over your shoulder as you play.

The complimentary drinks are laughable. They are 6 oz. drinks filled to the brim with ice before they are poured and the amount of booze is obviously cut down from a full shot to what has to be no more than 1/2 a shot – otherwise there would be no room for the mixer. I could barely get two swallows before my cup was empty (with the exception of ice) and then it was another wait for the cocktail waitress to return to take another order. So limited is the space that there isn’t even room for a drink caddy to be placed near the tables, so forget about ordering two drinks at one time.

The dealers could use additional training in my opinion. There is more than one that I saw expose a card during the deal, requiring the card exposed to enter the muck in exchange for a new card. This happened to me, personally, no less than 3 times, two of which would have resulted in a winning hand if the dealer hadn’t screwed up the deal. Some dealers also seemed to have a bit of a problem with math when creating side pots, or taking a 10% rake.

One poker room supervisor was a complete ass to a dealer who actually knew what he was doing. This supervisor was rude in front of the players (toward a dealer), as he corrected a dealer for an offense he thought had occurred, but had not because the supervisor did not see what had transpired before he walked by. The placement of the side pot was correct and it required the players to say something to the supervisor in order to prevent him from making a total ass of himself. In any event, the supervisor should have asked what was occurring before reaching in, moving the chips, and scolding the dealer by saying, “How hard is that?” The fact is, it wasn’t hard at all and the dealer was correct.

As with all casinos in NE PA, forget about special promotions other than a Bad Beat Jackpot, in which Aces full of Kings must be beat with a better hand. There are no incentives awarded for Aces cracked, having quads, or a straight flush.

If you are expecting a poker experience like you would find in Las Vegas, you will have to go to Las Vegas. If you are looking for an adequate poker room in the NE Pennsylvania area you are better off traveling another 30 minutes south and going to the Sands in Bethlehem, PA. Thought the Sands doesn’t compare to Vegas either, it is better than Mt. Airy, which I would rate as 1.5 stars out of 5.

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