Posted on 01/03/2007 3:48:39 PM PST by Coleus
Philadelphia Park opened southeastern Pennsylvania's first slot-machine parlor and the second statewide yesterday, attracting gamblers who said they were happy for a local alternative to the casinos in Atlantic City. Hundreds of people poured in when the doors opened shortly after 11:30 a.m. and began stuffing bills into the machines, and the ca sino enjoyed a brisk business in its first hours of operation.
Ines Beiez, 47, a North Philadelphia woman who was one of the first to sit down at a machine, said Philadelphia Park would become her gambling destination of choice. Although she was a frequent patron of Atlantic City and the Delaware Park casino in Delaware, "I'm coming here now," Beiez said as she played Hot Hot Super Jackpot, a nickel machine. "It's closer to my house."
The racetrack -- the home of champion horse Smarty Jones -- features a gambling hall with more than 2,100 slot machines, a bar and buffet about 20 miles north of downtown Philadelphia. It is larger than Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, a racetrack casino near Wilkes-Barre that opened last month with 1,000 fewer machines.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
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