Area Casinos Conduct Live Table Gaming Tests

Two suburban casinos gave their new, live table games a test run today under the watchful eye of Pennsylvania gambling regulators.

KYW's David Madden reports from Harrah's Casino in Chester, Pa. that regular play is scheduled to begin there and at Parx in Bensalem on Sunday morning.

You needed an invitation to take part in today's eight-hour test.  Several thousand invites were sent out, but only a few players were on hand at the start.

Among them was Pennsylvania state representative Nick Miccarelli, who made the first play at a craps table:

"You hear a lot of talk about job creation. This is actual job creation. We brought 500 jobs.  It was estimated at 350; that was raised. So we're very happy with what we've done here."

Those hundreds of new hires needed several weeks of training.

Today's attendees played with real money, but profits from the 111 tables of poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games went to charity (see related story).

Robert Guicide is in charge of the table games at Harrah's in Chester:

"It does change the dynamic in that it does allow us to interact with our valued guests in a way that we have not been able to before on the electronic table games."

The appeal here is geography: no need to make the long trek to Atlantic City.  And officials say table minimums will be set "according to the demand in the hall."  Translation: it'll likely be cheaper on afternoons and weeknights, when it's less busy.

(Photo by KYW's David Madden)