97 Slots Will Soon Retire from Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino

Simple economics and customer happiness were the same explanations the Rivers management offered as the other casinos did. However, unregulated “skill-based” gaming systems are nevertheless a source of worry in Pennsylvania. 

In its appeal for authorization to remove 97 of its gaming machines, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh focused on three key topics before a PA Gaming Control Board meeting on November 16. 

• Software providers no longer maintain the hardware and software of the devices. 

• Modern machines are bigger and taller, making the gaming floor appear wider and maintaining sight lines. Thus, the casino requires more space. 

• The casino has to pay maintenance costs for underperforming machines. 

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh Is Taking the Same Steps as Others

Typically, the slots that will be removed are 12+ years old. When these 97 slots are released, there will be 2,324 machines on the casino floor. That’s a huge number, but as in some online casinos there can be even more slots. Check out the best payout slots online so you know what to choose from the variety. The purchase of brand-new slot machines will cost Rivers Casino Pittsburgh $4.5 million this year, and it was also disclosed. 

The casino aims to make room for better-performing slot machines while improving the guest experience. The casino is replacing its long, straight rows of machines with more compact clusters and carousel designs. End chairs are cozier, and center seats are less vacant since there are fewer machine arrays. 

The inclusion of more carousels and smaller banks of gaming machines, in the words of Andre Barnabei, assistant general manager of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, "allows our visitors quicker access and gives more personal space for comfort while gambling." 

Rivers Casino's slot machines are never completely empty 

The number of customers who utilize the slots the casino records each hour. Barnabei provided data to the PGCB that had been obtained over a year, from July 2021 to June 2022. 

• The maximum was reached with 72% of the available slots occupied. 

• Every day, there were at least 715 idle machines. 

• At typical peak occupancy on weekends, just around 1,400 of the machines were idle. 

It is not anticipated that the casino would lose any revenue as a result of the withdrawal of the machines. According to Barnabei, if the proposal is approved, they aim to get rid of them by the end of the year. 

The Pennsylvania Casino Industry Is Struggling with the Issue of Skill Games

The conclusion of the PGCB conference should have addressed the subject of skill games. A spokesperson of the Office of Enforcement Council stated that every casino that requested authorization to limit the number of slots highlighted skill games. This, in turn, can be an advantage for online gambling sites that offer a PA casino no deposit bonus to their clients.

When asked if he believed that skill games impacted the income from casino slot machines, Barnabei replied, "I assume there would be an impact." He lacked proof for this assertion, though. 

Despite the lack of complex data, concerns persist that the games would reduce casino revenue. 

It is "absolutely incorrect," according to John Donnelly, a lawyer for Rivers casinos, to assert otherwise because it is "obvious" to him that the games are slot machines. 

“We don't have exact figures, and getting them might be difficult given that no one knows how much money is flowing to these unregulated areas. Instead of increasing the pie size, more devices are being placed around the Commonwealth.”

According to Donnelly, local communities and the horse racing sector encourage employment growth rather than skill-based machine profits.