We started Tuesday in Grantville, PA after visiting Hollywood Casino at Penn National. It was dark by the time we made it there so we went back the next morning to get some outdoor pictures.
Mohegan Sun Pocono was our first stop of the day. It is about a 90-minute drive from Penn National.
Mohegan Sun Pocono Downs, Wilkes-Barre, PA
It was a race day at Pocono Downs. We bet $5 each on a couple of horses and ended up with nothing. The stands were mostly empty. The off-track betting parlor was closed due to the pandemic, according to signs.
I found some 10/6 Double Bonus Ultimate X inside. I think it was the best game in the entire casino. It took me for a quick $50, and I checked out the pit.
The minimum bets were all over the place. Let it Ride, Three Card Poker and Mississippi Stud were $5, but Texas Hold’em bonus, craps and blackjack were $15. Criss Cross Poker and double zero roulette were $10. Craps odds were 3-4-5 times.
I saw Down Under Blackjack for the first time since Excalibur took the game off its floor in 2020. This is the first time I ever saw it as a 3:2 game. It was not open. However, the Spanish 21 game was $25, so that is probably a good guess for this game when it is open. Maybe it is $15.
Results: -$60, trip: +$18
Mount Airy, Mt. Pocono, PA
It took 23 casinos to find 9/6 Jacks or Better. It is available at Mount Airy on $2, $5 and $10 denominations. The same machines offered several other quality pay tables for other games. Mount Airy offers a large selection of video poker variants. The pay tables for these improve at the quarter denomination.
I won $40 playing full pay jacks. I gave $10 back playing stadium Three Card Poker. I had never seen that before so I wanted to know how it worked. I bought into the $5 craps game and lost the $30 I won on video poker.
Double zero roulette, 3:2 blackjack, Spanish 21 and Mississippi Stud were $10. The other table games were $5. Craps offers 3-4-5 times odds. Baccarat was not open so I could not confirm the limits there.
Results: Even, trip: +$18
Wind Creek, Bethlehem, PA
Wind Creek is the old Sands Casino. It is close to New York City. We hoped to play some pai gow poker here. We had not seen much along the way. We were unable to do that because the casino did not permit players to touch cards per the casino’s pandemic policy. The poker room was also closed. It is scheduled to reopen in the fall. Pai gow tile players were required to wear gloves. Craps players were able to touch the dice.
The only video poker pay tables that I play are on a $5, $10 and $25 machine. I saw an old Airplane slot machine. I played it and lost $15.
Results: -$15, trip: +$3
Valley Forge, King of Prussia, PA
Valley Forge Resort has a casino that is operated by Boyd Gaming. Its casino floor has two pits, high limit salon, and about 1,800 slot and video poker machines. The best video poker game that I found was $1 3/5/10-play 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker. That same machine has 8/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe, 8/6 Jacks or Better and 9/6 Triple Double Bonus. I played some of the 9/6 Double Double Bonus. I got back to even and walked away.
There are three types of blackjack games available at Valley Forge Casino. The $10 game on the floor uses eight decks. The $50 high limit game uses six decks. Both stand on all 17’s and allow surrender. There is also $10 Spanish 21 that stands on all 17’s.
Baccarat was $25. Double zero roulette and Mississippi Stud Poker were $10. All other table games, including craps with 3-4-5 times odds, High Card Flush, Crazy 4 Poker and Criss Cross Poker, were $5.
After Valley Forge Casino, we drove to Bensalem. We spent the night at a Holiday Inn next door to Parx Casino. That is where day seven starts.
Results: Even, trip: +$3
