Anyway, I put my players card in my pocket and forgot my credit card was there too. Even though the casino had a slight cigarette smell, it wasn't overwhelming or didn't make your clothes or hair smell like an ashtray. The thing I liked most was they have a nonsmoking section. My brother advised me to get a players card even though I didn't live in Pittsburgh. Getting there and parking (indoor) was easy and access to the casino was just an elevator ride away. Met family members at the Wheelhouse restaurant in the casino, but before going to lunch, I had a few hours to kill. Very nice place to spend a few hours (or an entire day). The food, building and carpet is FABULOUS. This is reflected in the atmosphere though out the casino. If I do run into any regular they have disappointed written all over their face. I have noticed or should I say that I have not noticed, the regulars that I would normally see there perhaps because I have became less regular with my visits there. I had always thought the PA Gaming Board had a standard of over 90% payback on the machines, but with considerable experience and sampling with the River's machine, I can assure you it is considerably less than that. The Rivers cant hold a candle by Meadows in pay out. I have played the exact machines at the Meadows that I have played at the Rivers and it is 'night and day' at how they pay-out. Maybe that is why the machines are so noticeably different and player favorable at the Meadows Casino which I find myself visiting more often but has a bit more travel for me. I completely understand that a casino has to make a lot of money to operate and not in the business to lose it, but it doesn't have to recover all it's start-up costs in the first few years. I am certain that is why they replaced 1 of the 2 pai-gow tables with a four-card table.

This game has very little house advantage except a so-called random automated card shuffling machine.

Giving up on the slots, I started playing pai-gow poker. Rivers has over three-thousand machines and on weekend nights they are mostly full with angry faces, but nobody has to wait in lines at the payout machines and cashiers. It is as if the casino wants you off the chair as quickly as possible so they can make more money from another player using it. If you visit on a Friday or Saturday night the payouts are worse and nothing close to exciting. Since the table games opened these machines will take twenty after twenty and consider yourself very lucky if the machine ever reaches 100 credits. Before table games, the payouts were decent. I played mostly the 3-reel,1-line, 7's quarter machines. I have been going to the casino since it's opening.

Rivers casino 329