Seven Luck Casino Poker

Pennsylvania is celebrating the first year of legal sports betting in the state with a bang and another “B” word.

Billion.

This time last year, there was just a single retail sportsbook operating at Hollywood Casino in the remote town of Grantville, PA. Now, the PA sports betting industry is so big, it has accepted over $1 billion in wagers. In fact, in November, it blew by that number, pushing lifetime bets in Pennsylvania to over $1.1 billion.

Betting exploded in PA with the start of football season, online betting

Betting handle (the total amount of bets accepted) has increased every month since April, thanks in large part to the start of online betting in PA in late May. As expected, the start of football season meant the amount of dollars bet exploded. Handle jumped from $59 million in July to over $109 million in August. Since the start of football, here is a look at how quickly betting handle has grown:

August 2019: $109,038,051
September 2019: $194,504,622
October 2019: $241,186,066
November 2019: $316,468,264

Seven Luck Casino Gangnam Coex: Texas Hold'em 2-5 games available - See 115 traveler reviews, 44 candid photos, and great deals for Seoul, South Korea, at Tripadvisor. At the Seven Luck Casino they have the standard casino games of roulette (American wheel), baccarat, blackjack, Caribbean Stud, three-card poker, as well as an Asian dice game called “Tai Sai” that. Part of Lucky 7 Casino & Hotel. Lucky 7 Casino's poker room accommodates both experienced and beginners to the game. The non-smoking room has three large-screen TVs that are tuned to current sporting events, a progressive Bad Beat jackpot, and a Monte Carlo board. The poker room holds cash games and tournaments on its four tables four nights a week. Seven Luck Casino.

The first billion is a landmark for the growing PA sports betting market, but a glance at these numbers show us that the second billion will hit in no time. Online betting accounts for more than 80% of the wagering in Pennsylvania. As more apps unfold and the state’s population learns more about legal and regulated sports betting, that number will grow, as will the overall handle.

Sportsbooks have earned almost $75 million in the first year of wagering

The billion dollars in bets is the focus after a year into wagering in Pennsylvania; however, the revenue sportsbooks are bringing in is nothing to scoff at either. The sportsbooks have netted $75 million in profit from betting.

Here is a look at how each book has fared over the first year. Keep in mind that some have been in operation longer than others, while others are only a retail operation, without an online betting arm:

Casino or Off-Track Betting Facility	Total Handle	Total Revenue	Online Handle	Online Revenue	Retail Handle	Retail Revenue
FanDuel/Valley Forge	$412,477,395	$20,484,098	$387,347,639	$18,196,442	$25,229,756	$2,287,656
SugarHouse/Rivers Philadelphia	$238,920,136	$14,450,083	$159,550,425	$6,570,668	$79,369,711	$7,879,415
Rivers Pittsburgh	$197,964,879	$11,375,450	$107,383,484	$2,564,528	$90,682,395	$2,564,528
Parx Casino	$135,164,001	$13,505,815	$64,609,616	$5,102,420	$70,554,385	$5,102,420
Hollywood Casino	$40,333,674	$3,777,995	0	0	$50,333,674	$3,777,995
FOX Bet/Mount Airy	$30,304,050	$1,860,169	$28,412,519	$1,684,031	$1,881,531	$176,138
Harrah’s Philadelphia	$26,082,290	$2,421,150	0	0	$26,082,290	$2,241,150
DraftKings/The Meadows	$18,838,314	$1,580,253	$16,247,801	$1,051,662	$2,590,513	$528,591
Presque Isle Downs	$10,418,512	$1,320,688	0	0	$10,418,512	$1,320,688
Unibet/Mohegan Sun Pocono	$6,742,752	$507,145	$1,881,498	($46,642)	$4,862,254	$553,787
Oaks Race and Sportsbook	$10,069,125	$149,765	0	0	$10,069,125	$1,120,355
South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbook	$27,429,323	$339,310	0	0	$27,429,323	$3,392,962
Statewide Total	$1,164,835,451	$74,215,910	$751,775,694	$35,123,109	$396,811,956	$39,092,801

Even though FanDuel was late to arrive in Pennsylvania, only launching in July, the daily fantasy sports (DFS) and betting giant, along with its PA casino partner, Valley Forge Casino, are dominating the market. Between retail and online wagering, FanDuel and Valley Forge account for over 36% of the marketplace. By comparison, Rivers Philadelphia (formerly SugarHouse) was one of the first retail sportsbooks and the first PA online sportsbook and generated almost 21% of bets.

And, to give you an understanding of just how important online betting is in Pennsylvania, consider this: Hollywood Casino was the first retail sportsbook to launch in November, but is responsible for only $40 million of total wagers. Moreover, the sportsbook has produced just $3.8 million in revenue. Nonetheless, because there are more retail sportsbooks than online sites that have been in operation longer, retail did outearn online betting sites with $39 million in revenue compared with $35 million.

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New Jersey hit a billion in bets after seven months

If you’re wondering how these numbers stack up to the New Jersey sports betting market, they are off the mark. New Jersey, however, was quick to launch retail sports betting in June 2018, then began online betting at the start of August. The state hit a billion dollars in wagers in December, seven months after taking the first bet.

Pennsylvania, on the other hand, waited seven months before even launching online betting in the first place. With slower rollouts for online operators, it took PA six months, instead of five, to go from online betting launching to hitting $1 billion in handle. To give you a sense of comparison, seven online sportsbooks were up and running within eight weeks in New Jersey. Pennsylvania, meanwhile, needed six months to grow from three operators to seven.

Pennsylvania now has eight online books, 12 retail facilities

The industry is still growing too. Currently, there are eight online sportsbooks, one of which, BetAmerica, just launched yesterday, and a dozen retail betting locations. More are in the works, too. When the gambling expansion law passed in the fall of 2017, many were skeptical even half of the 13 licensed casinos would pony up $10 million for a sports betting license.

Instead, all but one casino, Lady Luck Nemacolin, is in the sports betting game. Major New Jersey betting brands FanDuel and DraftKings both found their way into the Keystone State, as did FOX Bet and European powerhouse Unibet.

These PA casinos have retail betting and are in the process of joining the online betting market, too:

Harrah’s Philadelphia (Caesars Sport)
Hollywood Casino (Kambi)
Wind Creek
Live! Hotel and Casino

Ashley Adams

On a recent trip to Seoul, South Korea, I was able to play poker in each of the two casinos in Seoul that offer the game — the Seven Luck Casino and the Paradise Casino, Walkerhill, also called the Walkerhill Casino. After reviewing the poker room at the Seven Luck last week, today I’m sharing a review of the Walkerhill casino poker room for those traveling to Seoul.

Introducing the Paradise Casino, Walkerhill

The Paradise Casino, Walkerhill is part of the Sheraton Grande Hotel, a luxury facility with spa, health club, eight restaurants, a shopping mall, and 583 rooms spread over 17 floors. It’s located about five miles northeast of the heart of downtown atop Walkerhill, overlooking the mighty Han River in the eastern end of Seoul.

The building, visible from many miles around, is topped with glittering silver-colored frosting that glistens as you gaze up at it from the Gwangnaru subway station located at the bottom of the hill, about a mile away.‬

This casino’s luxurious shopping area (duty-free I was told) had all sorts of name-brand clothing, watches, bags, jewelry, and other accessories. As I walked around, buses arrived, dropping off well-heeled patrons. I don’t know if they all made their way to the casino, but I was encouraged to think that it was likely that there would be a regular flow of tourists into the gaming area.

Poker at the Walkerhill

On the Saturday afternoon that I visited the poker room in the Walkerhill, there were two tables of $1/$2 no-limit hold’em going and they started a third within 30 minutes of my arrival. By the way, with currency I am using a rough conversion here. The actual game is in Won, of course (this being Korea), and the game was structured 1,000/2,000 Won. With the Won’s recent slide, there is about 1,200 Won to the US dollar (making the game the more-cumbersome-to-report $0.83/$1.66).

For the $1/$2 game, you’ll find a $100 minimum and a $1,000 maximum buy-in. My table was the more deeply-stacked of the two that I sized up before taking a seat, with four of the players having between $700 and $1,000, a few having around $300, and a couple having stacks of roughly $100. The other table, and then the third table, had stacks averaging around $300.

I spent about four hours in the room both playing at my table and then, between hands, wandering over to the other two tables to get a sense of what their play was like. Generally speaking, the play was relatively sedate. Of course, my sample size was relatively small — just three tables on a Saturday afternoon — but even so, I witnessed no play that I would consider particularly wild or maniacal.

Players seemed mostly tight and timid, as they were at the Seven Luck Casino. Hands were generally not three-bet preflop. Large raises tended to be respected. Stack shoving seemed minimal to me. In short, it seemed a pretty relaxed place to play poker.

The rake was the same as it was at the other Seoul casino — 10% with a $15 maximum. Here, however, there was a $2 bad beat drop as well, making the full takeout as high as $17 on large pots. They also offered $1 an hour in comps.

Food is free for players at the Walkerhill, with the same arrangement I had seen at the Seven Luck. There’s a small restaurant with an automated menu on the outside. Players order electronically, are seated, and their orders are brought to them at no charge.

But there’s a restriction at the Walkerhill I did not notice at the other poker room, what I can best describe as a “Third Man Eating” rule which dictated that only two players could be away from the table eating at any one time. There is a waiting list kept, allowing players access to food only when the second player returns to play. There is no eating at the table, and non-alcoholic beverages are served free to seated players.

I did not sample the food (I was on the waiting-to-eat list, but never called). Players described it as “decent,” “pretty good,” and “better than average.” The fact that there were five or six names of players ahead of me on the list is a fair testament to the popularity of the food.

More from the Tables

As is the case in all casinos in Korea, access is forbidden to those without a foreign passport and those under 19 years of age. I met Germans, Russians, Chinese, Americans, and Brits during my visit to the Paradise, Walkerhill. The poker language at the table was English, though players also conversed in languages I did not understand.

In spite of the high rake (or maybe because of it), the environment for playing poker is otherwise pleasant. The cards are Kems. The playing felts are firm, the chairs are comfortable, the lighting is good, and the dealers are competent. Also, the room’s management is helpful, friendly, and multi-lingual.

Just like the Seven Luck Casino, the Walkerhill also offers the same helpful option when exchanging money into and out of Won. You’re permitted to change back into your native currency all of the Won that you initially purchased (at the same rate).

The casino has a full supply of other gambling games including roulette, blackjack, baccarat, three-card poker, Tai Sai, and slots. Though the three poker tables were full when I left early on a Saturday evening, the other gaming tables were largely ignored.

Getting to and from the Walkerhill

The Paradise Casino, Walkerhill‪ is located at 177, Walkerhill-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 143-708 South Korea. Games last all night and into the following morning, I was told. So if you go and stay late, be aware that the Seoul subway system, though extensive, safe, and extremely convenient, stops running between a little after midnight and stays shut down until about 6:00 a.m.

Though the poker room will transport you the casino Sunday through Monday, they will not give you a free ride back to your hotel. Cab rides to the heart of the city will run you about $40 (but no tipping in Korea!).

The casino runs a convenient shuttle bus to and from the subway to the casino. You can also walk the mile from the subway to the casino, though it’s all uphill, making it tough on a cold day or if you’re not in shape.

Conclusion

Overall, the Paradise Casino, Walkerhill is the nicer of the two poker rooms in Seoul, with more games, a luxurious hotel, and extensive shopping and other amenities available. There’s also a greater likelihood that you’ll be able actually to get a seat fairly quickly when you arrive.

Ashley Adams has been playing poker for 50 years and writing about it since 2000. He is the author of hundreds of articles and two books, Winning 7-Card Stud (Kensington 2003) and Winning No-Limit Hold’em (Lighthouse 2012). He is also the host of poker radio show House of Cards. See www.houseofcardsradio.com for broadcast times, stations, and podcasts.

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