Sands Casino in Bethlehem PA – Poker Room Review

In the middle of July 2010, live poker games were approved for visitors to casinos in NE Pennsylvania. One of the casinos approved was The Sands in Bethlehem, PA. Located on Route 412, as part of a revitalization of the old Bethlehem Steel factory, you can’t miss the casino as you arrive to it.

Once you find a parking space in the parking garage, which can be no easy task if you arrive at a busy time of day, it is a short walk to the elevators and then to the casino floor. Parking is free, by the way.

Once you find your way to the poker room, it can be another wait for a seat. However, they have a small lounge area available within the room. I should point out that the poker room isn’t really a “room” like you might find in Las Vegas. Though enclosed with a railing, it is actually set back near a casino wall. There are approximately twelve tables available and currently there is seldom a table that doesn’t have a waiting list.

The games played are mostly no limit games. Either 1-2 NL, or 3-5 NL. There are a couple of tables that remain available for 2-4 limit and 3-6 limit games. Until The Sands gets approval on certain procedures, there are a few oddities, if you are familiar with Las Vegas poker.

You can not exchange cash for chips with the dealer. You are required to either get your own chips from the cashiers cage, or wait until a “chip runner” is available if you need an additional buy-in. There is also no straddling of the big blind and you can only play the chips you have in front of you. If you have cash, even if you put it on the table before the start of the hand, it does not play.

The dealers are friendly and most seem to know what they are doing. I only had one occasion in which a female dealer seemed to get “lost” as I went to muck my cards before the flop. As I was the first to act I went to muck my cards and she lifted her hand in front of mine in a “stop” motion, and then said, “Hold it.” I, of course looked at her like she was nuts while she got her bearings and then looks at me and says, “It’s on you.” No shit, honey. But those “dumb” moves were few among the dealers. In hundreds of hands I saw dealt, there were only two instances of cards being exposed during the deal, by the dealer.

The chairs are comfortable and the room is set far enough from the loudest machines to make the casino noise bearable. The cocktail waitresses are quick to take an order and quick to return with your complimentary drinks. The size of the drinks are a respectable 8 oz. size.

Overall I give the Sands 3.0 stars when compared to Las Vegas. There are no special incentives to play their poker room, such as Vegas has. Of course with the competition in Vegas you are offered a variety of poker incentives like extra money for Aces Cracked (rolled up aces that lose the hand), Quads (4 of a kind), Straight Flushes, etc. Since there is little competition in NE PA among the few casinos, those extra incentives are non-existent, with the lone exception of the Bad Beat, in which a quad hand must be beat by a better hand – higher quads or a straight flush.

If only comparing the Sands to other local casinos, such as Mt. Airy Casino in the Poconos, I’d give it a 4.0 star rating, but that is only because Mt. Airy, located in Mt. Pocono, sucks so badly.

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