Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course

Reviews 3

AM

amesavis

Its like a huge multi-level warehouse for old people, sucking their money from their shaking hands and dazzling their dusty minds into submission. The noise from 4000 machines all playing different music all the time, the cavernous spaces with busy carpeting and black cielings and walls, weird decor like a big statue and the front of a ship. One section is like a huge art deco dance hall from their youth, only with gaming tables. The buffet is the largest I have ever seen, but its very expensive. The biggest problem with this place is the SMOKE. I asked for a map several times and no one had one, and the layout is very disorienting because of the gaudy patterns and loud machines which all look alike. Im sure this is all intentional, as is the dark lighting. The problem is that the smoking sections are dispersed throughout the place, right next to the nonsmoking. So even when sitting deep in a nonsmoking section, I got really irritated by the smoke. I looked around to see if anyone near me was smoking it was so strong, but they werent. So they blow the same air around the smoking and nonsmoking sections, and the result is that you get WAY too much smoke everywhere. There is a huge fake tree in one part that apparently lives on smoke and a nearby graveyard fence which is oddly apropos. The cool smell of tar and nicotine hits you the second you walk in the place, as do the old women not looking where they are going. The slots--these are the most confusing machines, dirty, some broken buttons and lights out--that I dont see how you could ever win any money on the slot machines. It wasnt much fun watching my balance get lower and lower. I won occasionally, but the machines are very tricky--penny machines with a minimum 20,40, or 80 cent bet minimum. Lines and hits. WTF? So theyre really much higher machines. The machines I did not like at ALL. The food is expensive--$8 burgers, $4 pizza, $50 a steak with no sides at the primo steakhouse. It was so un-busy the staff were all "people watching" at the entrance. So we got pizza and even though there was no line, we still had to wait for some kid to heat it to mouth-burning temperature, and put it on a wet tray who senses our disgust and says "its just water." Hows that for good service? Also I go up to Akbar at the service desk to get a card made and ask for a map, and he says no maps, then Jeff next to him hands him a map...so service is highly variable depending upon who you get. Interesting tidbits: 3 oxygen tanks for one man in the smoking section, "rascals" parked everywhere, the scent of perfumes on capri-panted old women shivering in their sweaters, every machine for disabled people taken by nondisabled ones, a "sharps container" for needles in the bathroom, a group of asians taking all the seats at Pai Gow poker, a leopard shirt with sequins in the gift shop, a huge ad for a movie serving as "art" on a wall, a bouncer who wished me luck, its open 24/7/365 and Ill bet they take EBT cards! Its free to get in, but they never pay out.

FR

Fred Smeltzer

Decided to spend New Years at Hollywood with my wife. We were planning on some gambling, drinking and dancing! We even got a hotel room (even though we are only 35 min away) because I was sure we would need a cab to get us the half mile away to the Days Inn. HORRIBLE!! Its obvious within your first ten minutes that the ventilation will not keep up with the seniors on oxygen, smoking at the penny slots. That wasnt anything i couldnt live with because we went to bars in our days before kids. Played a little craps and then waited for a slot machine. LOL $150 lost between the both of us (hey, its gambling). I didnt see a waitress the whole time I was playing craps or slots and we knew we had to get food in us to prepare for the drinking and fun we were in store for. The casino has one soda fountain station with a line of about 15 people. Along with the bathrooms and water fountain it will be the only thing free during your visit. We went to the pizza place and got 2 slices of cold pizza and a $3 fountain soda!! WTF Now it was time to party! The bands down at the casino were great! The problem is there is no room or revenue for a band in the lower casino area. We couldnt get close and we were hanging out by the slots in limbo. The bar there was 2 deep, 3 bartenders and drinks are $5!! At a CASINO not a Steelers or Eagles game! We went upstairs to the DJ waited in line and got two drinks, danced a little and realized the line for a drink was 15 min. By the time we went downstairs people were fighting to get a drink from the lower bar. So, we decided to not drink and dropped more money into very busy and cold slots. We did have a good time at the Craps table, but that had nothing to do with any kind of atmosphere created by the casino. Wasted money on the hotel room was wasted because I left sober and alert with disappointment. On a bright note... If Hollywood Casinos main goal is to keep parents at home with there kids on New Years Eve? Mission Accomplished because my last 5 at home with them was more fun. Maryland is building a Casino this year near Inner Harbor and is only an extra 20 minute drive.

KY

Kye Kwon

We arrived there Friday evening after table games had officially opened (yesterday). It was PACKED around the table games and poker. We also noticed the overwhelming smell of smoke everwhere. Everywhere includes any of the restaurants, lobby areas etc. Im an avid casino-goer and visit Atlantic City several times a year. This place has the worst ventilation of any casino Ive ever played at. We went to the poker area and saw that the waiting list for $1-2NL Holdem was 45 people long and the director said it would be a 3 hour wait. Needless to say, we didnt bother to put in our names. The 6 of us wandered around trying to sit at a $25 min. bet or lower blackjack table or one of the $15 min. bet roulette tables. After about 45min of fruitlessly searching for open seats, we sat down at an empty roulette table (WHY is it unmanned on a Fri night??), a couple other people sat down, and 5-6 people gathered around the table to wait. The pit boss told us to wait 20 min and it would be open. 35min later, the next pit boss told us it would be another 45min wait. Exasperated, we all got up in disgust and wandered around for another 30min without success. At that point, the poker waiting list for $1-2 was 102 names long. The wait for $2-5 NL was much shorter - 42 people. WOW. The lack of poker tables shows (only 12 total). We headed back to the roulette table and sat down. 15min after it was supposed to have been opened, the dealers and pit boss came over to set it up. That took another 20min with a lot of shouting from the pit boss to the dealers, followed by nervous glances by the latter..not a very comfortable way to start up a new table. This is how my time broke down last night: TIME SPENT SEARCHING FOR AN OPEN SEAT: 2.5 hours; TIME SPENT GAMBLING: 20 minutes. I will only ever visit late at night or early in the morning to get a seat at a poker table, since thats the only way possible to do so. Co-workers of mine who had gone on the weekday said the wait for poker was about 40 names long (2.5 - 3.5 hours) on 2 different weekdays.

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