Mount Airy Casino was the first Pennsylvania sports betting licensee to launch a PA online sportsbook without a retail counterpart open. Early on, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) was reticent to allow an online site to launch before a sportsbook on property. Now that online betting is up and running, there is seemingly less of a. The Mount Airy Casino is a favorite to be one of the biggest and best online casinos in PA. They have applied — and been approved — to offer an online casino with table games and slots as well as an online poker room. They are one of the first three casinos that were approved for a license — at the cost of $10 million — in August 2018. WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday fined Mount Airy #1, LLC, operator of Mount Airy Casino Resort and SugarHouse HSP Gaming, L.P, operator of Rivers Casino.
Mount Airy Casino Resort has long had plans to get into online gambling. Now its plans will finally come to fruition in Pennsylvania.
Mount Airy and online gambling
Mount Airy has been a vocal advocate of online gambling. It is one of the few casinos that has officially entered into a partnership agreement with an online casino platform provider.
Platform provider
Mount Airy and 888 entered into an iGaming agreement way back in 2014.
During a hearing held at Mount Airy, David Licht, the executive chairman of the All American Poker Network (888’s US-facing network at the time) let the cat out of the bag.
The partnership is still in place, as Mount Airy is currently running promos for 888 NJ online casino on its website.
In-state partnerships/relationships
Mount Airy’s partnership with 888 opens a lot of doors.
As it does in New Jersey and Nevada, 888 is expected to power the Caesars sites in Pennsylvania. That would almost guarantee an intrastate online poker agreement between Mount Airy, Harrah’s Philadelphia, and any other casino that might choose 888.
Possible out-of-state partnerships/relationships
- Caesars AC
- Harrah’s AC
- 888 Delaware
Because 888 is the only online gambling operator active in every state with legal iGaming, the sky’s the limit for Mount Airy.
If, as expected, Pennsylvania joins the existing interstate compact featuring Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey, Mount Airy will instantly be one of the most well-trafficked online poker sites.
Forecasting Mount Airy’s online gambling performance
Because of its partnership with 888, Mount Airy will be able to overcome its built-in disadvantages.
- The casino’s revenue makes it difficult to devote a ton of marketing dollars to online casino/poker.
- Further hurting marketing, the casino doesn’t produce the foot traffic or database of some of the larger Pennsylvania casinos.
- The Mount Airy brand isn’t as strong as Parx, Sands Bethlehem or Harrah’s.
At the end of the day, Mount Airy’s online success will likely come down to the team the casino puts in place. It will also depend on whether the casino views online as a product it has to offer to keep up with other casinos, or if it views the ubiquity of online as an opportunity to even the playing field with larger facilities.
History of Mount Airy Casino
Mount Airy Casino Resort is located in Mount Pocono, Pa., on the site of the former Mount Airy Lodge.
The lodge originally opened in 1898 was one of the most popular honeymoon destinations during its heyday in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. It started to fall on hard times in the ’80s and closed its doors in the early 2000s.
After ownership changed hands several times, it was eventually torn down to make way for the casino in 2005. Mount Airy Casino Resort opened its doors in 2007.
Staying true to its roots, Mount Airy was the first PA casino to offer hotel lodgings. The 188-room hotel is an important amenity considering Mount Airy’s secluded location.
Land-based performance
Mount Airy is one of four Category 2 casinos in Pennsylvania. The other three:
- Rivers
- Sands Bethlehem
Unlike Category 1 “racinos” or the heavily restricted Category 3 “resort” casinos, a Category 2 casino designation is a traditional casino.
Mount Airy currently houses 1,800 slot machines, 70 table games and a nine-table poker room. That makes it the smallest of the four Category 2 casinos.,
Despite its location and size, Mount Airy has a six percent market share and has been steadily gaining on some of the major players in the market.
Mount Airy Casino is located in the small tourist town of MountPocono. The property is an excellent getaway featuring golf, dining, the great outdoors and, of course, a casino.
While it isn’t the biggest casino in Pennsylvania, Mount Airy has been one of the more aggressive operators when it comes to its future in online gaming.
However, the casino is not planning to launch online until the fall of 2019.
Mount Airy’s online casino platform
Mount Airy’s journey into online gaming began in 2015 with the announcement of an iGaming partnership with 888Holdings. Later, the casino partnered with TheStarsGroup, a parent company for PokerStars.
Mount Airy is all in for PA iGaming. The property is approved for the $10 million license bundle. Considering the work it has put in up to this point, we can expect a significant focus on its online gambling product.
Mount Airy’s online casino bonuses and promos
Not much is known about Mount Airy’s plans for bonuses and promotions yet. The Stars Group is always offering unique and changing sign-up bonuses in New Jersey.
With new offers changing all the time, we can’t tell you exactly what the PA deposit bonus will entail. But we can tell you if you don’t like one, you only need to wait a little while before a new one will come along.
It’s still unclear what Mount Airy will offer. However, hopes are it offers a bonus program integrated with the property.
Direction To Mount Airy Casino Pa
Mount Airy’s online casino banking
Banking is a challenge for all online casinos, but Mount Airy should offer players an array of options for deposits and withdrawals. These include:
- ACH (e-checks)
- Cash at the Mount Airy Casino’s cage
- Mount Airy’s online casino prepaid card
- Neteller
- Online banking transfers
- PayNearMe at 7-Eleven locations
- PayPal
Mount Airy’s online casino game offerings
Slots
Using New Jersey’s 888 as a benchmark, we can expect to see a library that boasts one of the most expansive catalogs of exclusive and progressive jackpot games.
Some of these exclusivejackpots we hope to see in Mount Airy’s lobby include:
- Dino Stampede
- Jack’s Pot
- Gods of Gold
- Oktoberfest Spins
- The Royals Go Camping
- Steampunk Nation
Hence, we’ve seen that players enjoy variety and this could be a weakness for Mount Airy. However, we also may see a different slot landscape in Pennsylvania due to the 54 percent slot tax.
Blackjack
Mount Airy should offer a few variants of blackjack that have player-friendly odds.
Games will be significantly cheaper on the web compared to the brick-and-mortar site. Online players can enter games for as little as 10 cents, whereas most tables in Mount Pocono are $10-$15.
Roulette
Mount Airy could offer a couple of versions of roulette including American, European, and French.
American roulette is much like the wheels at traditional US casinos and has a double zero.
European roulette features a single zero and has better odds for the player.
The best odds are in French roulette, which also features a single zero. Also, players receive a 50 percent refund on their bets even money if “0” hits. The house edge on outside bets is only 1.35 percent.
Other table games
Mount Airy could offer several other games such as baccarat, paigow, and Let It Ride. However, this is not yet clear.
With the tax rates favoring table games, it could be speculated that casinos will put more of a focus on games other than slots.
What is likely to appear at Mount Airy are the popular live dealer games. Seeing its popularity in New Jersey, we can expect to see this transfer over to Pennsylvania.
Games that currently feature a live dealer are:
- American roulette
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- No-commission baccarat
- Three-card poker
- Ultimate Texas Hold ’em
- Mount Airy’s online poker
One thing is for sure; Mount Airy will feature a robust poker program.
In fact, PokerStars arguably has the best software in the industry. In addition, it is also are the No. 2 online poker operator in the US, mostly because it is not allowed to take advantage of shared player pools from Nevada and Delaware due to their past legal troubles.
PokerStars operates under ResortsCasino in New Jersey, which is run by Pennsylvania competitor MoheganSun.
Regardless of Mount Airy’s partner, it is in a strong position to be the go-to for online poker in Pennsylvania.
Mount Airy’s online loyalty program
Like its bonus opportunities, The Stars Group is always tinkering and changing its promotional loyalty program. The current version features Stars Coin, which can be used to buy treasure chests full of surprises like bonus credit and more Stars Coin.