Sands Casino Reviews
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The casino hosts at The Wind Creek casino are fabulous!!! Particularly Shannon Molettieri!!! Besides having excellent customer service skills, she finds a way to make me feel like an appreciated player all the time. Thank you Shannon!! The casino is nice but the smoke is overwhelming. In order to walk to Emeril’s burgers you have to walk through the smoking section. Over all the casino is very clean and well maintained. “ If your lucky enough to have that special someone who misses the decadence and self destruction of the 70 & 80's, the Sands is for you. ” in 112 reviews “ I played the slots and had dinner at Burgers and More by Emeril which was reasonably priced and delicious. ” in 42 reviews. Reviews from Marina Bay Sands employees about working as a Casino Dealer at Marina Bay Sands. Learn about Marina Bay Sands culture, salaries, benefits, work-life balance, management, job security, and more.
David G. Schwartz. At the Sands: The Casino That Shaped Classic Las Vegas, Brought the Rat Pack Together, and Went Out With a Bang. Las Vegas: Winchester Books, 2020.
The lights are coming down. Frank, Dean, and Sammy are about to take the stage. This is the moment we remember, when Las Vegas became classic. And it was at the Sands. Built in 1952 over the ashes of Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson’s last chance in Las Vegas, the Sands was a collective effort. Underworld figures like Meyer Lansky, Doc Stacher, and Frank Costello provided the cash. Beloved Texas gambler Jake Freedman was the public face. Manhattan nightclub king Jack Entratter kept the Copa Room filled and made the party happen, every night. Carl Cohen, esteemed as the greatest casino manager in the history of the business, made the team complete.
No matter how well your casino is run, you need a good hook to get the gamblers through the door. Casino owners were learning that entertainment was a pretty fair hook. Entratter, who broke into the entertainment business as a bouncer at the Stork Club, had risen to become manager of the Copacabana, one of Manhattan’s hottest hot spots, before heading to Las Vegas. At the Sands, “Mr. Entertainment” brought many of the brightest stars of the day to the casino’s showroom, named the Copa Room. The Copa was the hottest ticket in America and, for performers, one of the most coveted stages in the nation. Headlining at the Sands–or even opening there–meant that you had made it.
For gamblers, the Sands was paradise. For tourists, it was a chance to see some sophistication—and maybe run into a famous singer or actor. The resort itself became a celebrity. Early on, the Sands hosted numerous radio and television broadcasts, bringing the casino into American households coast to coast when gambling was still not entirely reputable. Las Vegas is a city built on public relations, and the Sands’ Al Freeman was one of its early masters.
The Sands did more than showcase stars: it made them shine brighter. In 1960, while filming Ocean’s 11, the Rat Pack (though they were never called that in those days) came together onstage at the Sands, creating a cultural icon that would define the era. Behind the scenes, Davis and Sinatra resisted the prevailing segregationist mindset of Las Vegas and helped to overturn Jim Crow on the Strip. With Sinatra as its star, the Sands reached its highest point, hosting everyone from John F. Kennedy to Texas oilmen to Miami bookmakers.
Yet the Sands wasn’t all comps and curtain calls. Behind the scenes, the casino’s connection with reputed mobsters made it a target. For years, the FBI tried to penetrate the casino, including a disastrous wiretapping operation that turned into a public embarrassment for the Bureau. And Frank Sinatra–at one point a 10 percent owner of the Sands–would divest his interests after a highly-publicized feud with Nevada gaming regulators over his friendship with alleged Chicago mob kingpin Sam Giancana.
After Howard Hughes bought the Sands in 1967 (with Frank Sinatra explosively departing soon after) the Sands lost some of its allure, but the casino soldiered on under Hughes and other owners before being sold to Sheldon Adelson, who closed the property in 1996 to make way for the Venetian mega-resort, along the way doing for conventions what Jack Entratter had done for entertainment in Las Vegas four decades earlier.
In the end, the Sands went out with a bang–an implosion that brought down its hotel tower. It had a wild 44 year run. Along the way, a host of characters, including the Rat Pack (and their many friends) in all their glory, author Mario Puzo, Apollo astronauts, wealthy arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, and President Ronald Reagan passed through the Sands’ doors.
At the Sands tells the story of how one of the most fondly remembered classic Las Vegas casinos beat the odds to become a success, staged some of the Strip’s most memorable spectaculars, and paved the way for the next generation of Las Vegas resorts. The Sands may be gone, but it did not fade away.
Sands Bethlehem Casino Resort is one of the largest and most successful casinos in Pennsylvania. In fact, its annual revenues are second only to Parx Casino, according to state figures.
The casino, which opened in 2009, is built on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel company. However, the casino will likely change its name quite soon.
In March 2018, Wind Creek Hospitalitypurchased the Bethlehem property. The future of the site remains unclear, but the “Sands” part of the name will certainly disappear.
However, like all Pennsylvania casino properties, the value of Sands Bethlehem is about to skyrocket. Online gambling in the Keystone State should launch sometime in 2018.
Courtesy of an October 2017 law, Pennsylvania is now an online gambling state. The law, signed by Gov. Tom Wolf, authorizes online slots, table games, poker, daily fantasy sports, sports betting, and other types of gambling.
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Sands Bethlehem online casino platform
So far, 11 of the 13 eligible Pennsylvania casinos have applied for some form of online gambling license. Sands Bethlehem is one of them, applying on behalf of its new ownership group.
However, neither Wind Creek nor Sands has a relationship with a technology provider that could bring online betting to fruition. The casino will require some sort of platform partner to proceed in the online space, but given how fluid the gambling industry is right now, a deal could happen at any time. There is always the possibility they try to build something in-house. The rush to get online ahead of the competition makes that possibility too time-consuming.
Any provider will have to offer solutions for both browser and mobile gameplay. Pennsylvania has usedNew Jersey‘s approach to online gambling as its model, and most New Jersey online casinos offer both versions of play.
Pennsylvania regulations will also be explicit regarding geolocation technology. Players will have to prove that they are physically within state lines to play.
Games at Sands Bethlehem online casino
Obviously, we can’t know exactly what games will appear in the Sands Bethlehem Online Casino. However, the games offered on the land-based side do provide a clue to what we might see.
Sands Bethlehem Blackjack
Sands Bethlehem offers patrons a wide swath of Blackjack variations. These variations can amount to anything from extra side bets to structurally-changed options.
They are:
- Free Bet Blackjack
- Players can double down or split their hands for free. However, the game pushes if the dealer lands on 22.
- Blazing 7s
- An extra bet makes a player eligible for a progressive jackpot. The values of the players’ and dealer’s cards determine the outcome.
- 21+3 Xtreme
- A side bet that causes the player cards and the dealer’s up card to form a three-card poker hand. Successful combination pay out as much as 30 times your bet.
- King’s Bounty
- A side bet that the player’s first two cards will equal 20. Also, two kings of spades will pay out a jackpot.
- House Money
- A side bet in which the player’s first two cards are worth extra cash if they are Ace-King suited, a straight flush, a pair, or a straight. If the player wins, they then have the option to add their winnings to their original bet.
It is extremely likely that at least some or all of these variations will show up in the Sands Bethlehem Online Casino. Some of these variations already appear on other sites, so bringing them to market will be fairly simple. Please note that all these variants will not be to the exclusion of normal blackjack – they’ll be in addition to the standard game.
Other Sands Bethlehem table games
As one of Pennsylvania’s larger casinos, Sands Bethlehem offers a wide array of other table games, too. Some of them are quite rare, most notably Criss Cross Poker.
Criss Cross Poker is a table game based loosely on Texas Hold’em. Players receive two hole cards, then the standard Hold’em community cards are dealt in a cross-like pattern. Players bet on both the row and column to make winning five card hands.
The other table games at Sands Bethlehem include:
- Baccarat
- Big Six
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Craps
- Fortune Pai Gow Poker
- Let It Ride
- Mini and Midi Baccarat
- Sic Bo
- Texas Hold’em Bonus
- Three Card Poker
- War
How many of these will appear on the Sands Bethlehem app is undetermined. However, one goal of any corresponding app is to mirror the land-based experience, so most of them will likely be there.
Sands Bethlehem slots
Sands Bethlehem has roughly 3,000 slot machines onsite. Slots will certainly be present in its online casino.
Some of Sands Bethlehem’s top slots are:
- Godzilla
- Grease
- The Hangover
- Powerball
- Wheel of Fortune Triple Spin Extreme
Sands Bethlehem also has several video poker options at its site. It stands to reason that video poker will be a part of the online version of the casino.
Sands Bethlehem/Wind Creek rewards Programs
Sands owner Sheldon Adelson has long been an outspoken opponent of online gambling. So, an online casino won’t occur while Sands Bethlehem is still under his control.
How a membership in the current My Sands rewards program would transfer to Wind Creek Hospitality‘s rewards system is unclear. However, an online casino under the brand would certainly include a rewards club.
Wind Creek Rewards is already a robust program at its properties. New players receive up to $1,000 in free play and a $10 food credit.
How much of that largesse would extend to online players is unclear. However, it’s a good bet that Wind Creek will not be stingy in its new online home.
Banking options at Sands Bethlehem Online Casino
There will be a multitude of options to deposit and withdraw on the Sands Bethlehem Online Casino. They will likely be some mixture of the following:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Neteller
- E-checks
- Bank wire
- Check
- PayPal
- Deposits at the Sands Bethlehem cage
It is also possible that the online casino will accept cryptocurrencies. So, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other options may also appear on the list.
Sands Bethlehem Online Casino customer service
Sands Bethlehem will maintain phone, email, and probably live chat support 24/7. There will also be an FAQ section that will address many common problems.
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