Last Friday (April 26, 2019) Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack officially launched a brand-new poker room following extensive renovations. The World Series of Poker-branded poker room is part of the operator’s bid to reverse an extended period of loss of customers due to both in- and out-of-state competitors.
Even though the renovated and upgraded poker room opened its doors to avid poker enthusiasts back in February, casino officials promised the public that the grand opening of the operations would be celebrated in a befitting manner and what better way to celebrate it than with World Series of Poker (WSOP) seats. Also marking the official grand reopening of the casino were a number of exciting festivities as well as free food for all those who attended.
Among the Harrah’s Philadelphia officials that attended the ribbon cutting event on Friday was Chris Albrecht, who is the property’s Senior Vice President and General Manager. In a statement made during the event, he said that he and his team are really excited about the fact that they now have a permanent home for their poker team.
Previously, the poker room was located one floor below that the property’s main gaming floor – this is where race track bets are placed. After the renovations, the new location of the poker room spans a larger floor area that, according to Mr. Albrecht, is a “self-contained poker space”.
For now, the poker room is just available to the members of the public. However, there is the possibility that the facility is now being considered to host poker tournaments in the not so distant future. The addition of a 28th poker table is also being considered – this table will be used for the final round of poker tournaments.
Other New Amenities at the Property
As mentioned earlier, Harrah’s Philadelphia intention with the bid to reinvent itself is meant to lure more customers deeper into the property. In addition to that, the new amenities are expected to make the customers stay even longer.
The renovated and upgraded poker room is just one of the latest of several amenities that Harrah’s Philadelphia has added over the past few months. Some of the other notable additions include a sportsbook that was launched earlier this year.
These new amenities are great advancements for the property which went live 12 years ago as a slots-only facility. At the time, Harrah’s was state’s top earner but the gambling industry has since evolved significantly making it harder for the gaming operator to deal with competition.