Inside America’s Casinos: Stop #14 – Parx Casino

Join CDC Gaming as we embark upon a road trip Inside America’s Casinos. For our 14th stop, we visit Parx Casino.

When I was done with my visit to Rivers Casino and saw how the property integrates seamlessly into the urban environment, so dense with buildings and people and so rich with heritage, history, and culture, it was now time to visit another casino in the greater Philadelphia area. My next destination was Parx Casino, located in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, less than 20 miles north up the Delaware River.

A gambling evolution, not revolution

Unlike Rivers Casino, which opened one day in 2010 on a site that had been a sugar mill for over a decade, Parx Casino evolved along a more gradual path. It opened in 1974 as the Philadelphia Park Racetrack.

In 2006, the racetrack was awarded a license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, allowing the construction of a full standalone casino. In the meantime, a temporary slot parlor opened in partnership with Bally’s. In 2009, Parx Casino, a new standalone venue costing $250 million to build, was opened.

Arrival — An infrastructure built for gambling efficiency

The drive on I-276 approaching Parx Casino was like one through any American suburb, just a long stretch of road dotted with strip malls, gas stations, and fast-food joints. Parx Casino doesn’t sit on any waterfront or skyline. There’s no boardwalk, hotel tower, or resort entrance. Just wide access roads, bays, and traffic circles designed for dual-way traffic volume, huge parking lots, and a big, white, shopping-mall-like structure in the middle of it all.

The property is presentable and the grounds are well-kept. But it looks more like a large convention center than a casino-resort. Parx Casino looks very efficient and functional from the outside and, like Bally’s Casino in Rhode Island, which I visited earlier on this trip, its simple functionality seems planned and intentional.

I got the impression that whoever designed Parx Casino wasn’t too worried about impressing guests before they walked inside. Like Bally’s Rhode Island, the property seemed focused on getting me in, having me gamble, and making it easy and appealing for me to stay longer by keeping operations running smoothly.

First impressions — Bigger and busier than I thought

As I parked my car in the busy lot and walked (about seven minutes) to the property, things started to look more casino-like, with a large impressive entrance featuring outdoor lighting, polished doors, and an overall design that transcended glamour. But when I walked in my perception shifted almost immediately. As expected from the efficient design, you walk into a lobby, which leads you immediately to the gaming floor.

Did I mention before that I got the feeling that whoever designed Parx Casino wasn’t concerned with impressing guests before they enter the property? Once I stepped into the casino, it was clear that the exterior had fooled me into expecting the property to be much smaller on the inside.

Both the scale and the design of the gaming floor were different from what I expected based on the exterior. Unlike Rivers Casino, which was balanced with its urban surroundings, Parx Casino felt like a high-end, high-volume, gambling ecosystem. The casino stretches far to the back of the property (which, as said, was a lot bigger than I initially perceived), featuring large slot sections, extensive table-game areas, and distant sightlines. This property was built around volume, not intimacy.

Another thing that surprised me about Parx Casino was the activity level. Probably because there’s a lot of parking space all around the property, it didn’t seem busy as I was walking in. But when I entered, I found the slot sections heavily occupied, table-game pits packed with solo gamblers and groups, and a busy sportsbook. And there was constant movement across the floor and in the aisles.

Parx casino design — High-end, high traffic

Architecturally and aesthetically, Parx Casino, alongside Bet Rivers, is one of the least theatrical casinos I’ve visited on this trip. The Indian casinos in Connecticut were packed with tribal heritage and tradition. Caesars tried to portray Ancient Rome. Parx had little to no theme. I found very few visual landmarks and immersive design elements.

The property didn’t try to tell me a story or transport me into an alternate reality. It was all about movement and visibility across gaming areas. It may sound underwhelming, but I actually felt the design in this property worked well. Although the floor was packed with people, it never felt chaotic. And despite the property’s vast size, I found the navigation intuitive. Parx was more than a large high-rev gambling machine; I never felt overwhelmed as I did in Bally’s Rhode Island, which was the closest example to this type of property.

What impressed me even more was that the design and fixtures look sleek and elegant. Not comparable to Ocean, Borgata, or the Encore, but for a property that is built around volume and efficiency, it’s balanced with elegant design.

Beyond gaming — Gambling comes first

Parx does offer non-gaming amenities, but they clearly play a secondary role compared to the casino itself. The property offers a range of dining options at various price points. From the Parxgrill Steakhouse to the Liberty Bell Gastropub and Beergarden, the design isn’t glamorous, but certainly elegant and efficient. There’s also Bambu, an Asian fusion restaurant, and a food court with quicker cheaper options. The Xcite Center is a 1,500-seat live venue and 360 is a live-music bar. There’s also a small hotel (Parxview) with 160 rooms and a shuttle to the casino. Parx also offers event spaces and live horse racing.

The property does offer non-gaming options, but Parx felt to me a lot less like a vacation destination and more like a regional gambling with attached amenities.

The gaming floor — A gambling factory, in a good way

Parx Casino’s gaming space spans 180,000 square feet, but it feels a lot bigger. Probably because, unlike other properties I’ve visited where the gaming floor was a significant part of the resort, at Parx, it’s the property’s epicenter, everything revolving around the gambling. Walking around the floor, I felt that the layout reinforces that philosophy. The floor is long and narrow, with aisles, machines, and tables creating circulation patterns that naturally keep you moving across the floor, but still make you weave your way through many different game areas.

Parx Casino has around 3,300 slot and video poker machines arranged in large open banks and about 130 game tables laid in highly visible pits. I also noticed a lot of activity at the poker tables, which reflected Parx’s reputation within the Pennsylvania poker market. Throughout my visit, I had minimal distractions from gambling.

Parx Casino isn’t trying to provide visitors with an escape or fantasy. It’s allowing you to focus on gambling and it does that very well.

The crowd – Local, Pennsylvanian, gambling-oriented

The demographic mix at Parx Casino stood out to me immediately. Compared to Atlantic City, there were fewer social-focused groups. Unlike Connecticut, there were almost no holidaymakers and unlike Bet Rivers, I didn’t see many young urbanites. The atmosphere on the property felt much more practical and habitual than leisurely. I met many regular daytime visitors from the surrounding areas who came to gamble and were very focused.

Leaving Parx Casino

As I left the casino and walked back to my car across the football field-sized parking lot, I turned around and looked at the property and the huge LED sign in front of it. Even the screen on the sign was practical, running ads for casino and sportsbook promotions. No promises for an escape to a thematic fantasy world, no swimming pools or spas, no holiday destination advertisements.

I concluded that Parx Casino is just a large efficient casino operation clearly built around consistent gambling volumes and activity. And that clarity made Parx one of the most revealing stops on my trip. Because perhaps that’s exactly what many gamblers are looking for.