{"id":3073,"date":"2018-03-19T11:45:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T12:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=3073"},"modified":"2018-03-19T17:19:35","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T17:19:35","slug":"pa-gambling-guide-harrisburg-hershey-area-sweet-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/pa-gambling-guide-harrisburg-hershey-area-sweet-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"PA Gambling Guide: Harrisburg-Hershey Area Is A Sweet Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"
For a little taste of everything, check out Central Pennsylvania<\/strong>. You\u2019ll find:<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great place to live,\u201d says Lawrance Binda<\/strong>, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Burg<\/a><\/em>, a community magazine available in print and online.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of variety of types of living you can have, from city to small town to country,\u201d adds Binda, who lived in New York City and Washington, D.C. before moving to Harrisburg about 10 years ago. \u201cAnd (it\u2019s) not expensive. Sometimes, I\u2019m surprised that more people don\u2019t live here.\u201d<\/p>\n Harrisburg lies between Pennsylvania\u2019s two major cities \u2013 110 miles west of Philadelphia<\/strong> and 205 miles east of Pittsburgh<\/strong>. Baltimore<\/strong> is 80 miles south, and New York City<\/strong> is 170 miles northeast.<\/p>\n The region includes Hershey<\/strong>, hometown of the chocolate magnate who developed a worldwide snack company; Gettysburg<\/strong>, site of the Civil War\u2019s bloodiest battle; Carlisle<\/strong>, home to the U.S. Army War College; and a slice of Amish country, where many farm families still adhere to an 1800s lifestyle.<\/p>\n Central Pennsylvania offers a unique appeal to anyone looking to move to the state to take advantage of the impending launch of a legal online poker and other casino games.<\/p>\n The state approved full-fledged Internet gaming late last year, and most of the 12-land based casinos are expected to launch online operations this year. Pennsylvania joins New Jersey<\/strong>, Delaware<\/strong> and Nevada<\/strong> as the only states with legal online casino gaming. It is by far the most populous of the four, which should lead to a good variety of poker offerings. Online gamblers must be in the state to play. You don\u2019t have to be a resident, but for players thinking about moving, this is a quick guide to what you\u2019ll find in and around Harrisburg.<\/p>\n Reflecting the lack of urban centers between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Central Pennsylvania has only one land-based casino: Hollywood at Penn National<\/strong>, which is just outside Harrisburg: 777 Hollywood Blvd., Grantville, PA 17028.<\/p>\n Hollywood has a 17-table poker room<\/strong>, 58 other table games, and 2,317 slot machines, according to the Gaming Control Board\u2019s January report. Hollywood also has a thoroughbred race track.<\/p>\n Maryland Live! Casino<\/strong> in Baltimore is about two hours from Harrisburg. In January, Hollywood\u2019s operator, Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association<\/strong>, paid $50.1 million for a license to build a satellite casino about 50 miles south of Harrisburg and about 20 miles from the Maryland border. Hollywood outbid other casinos for the first satellite license even though it had sued the state over the law allowing the smaller casinos. The suit, which is pending in federal court, says that because Hollywood is the only casino in its section of the state, it is less protected from competition than other casinos are.<\/p>\n Harrisburg has 49,160 residents, according to 2016 Census estimates; about 550,00 people live in the three-county metro area. Sperling\u2019s Best Places says Harrisburg\u2019s cost of living is about 15 percent below the national average; the Tax Foundation says $100 spent in Harrisburg has the purchasing power of $103 spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
Get to know Harrisburg<\/span><\/h2>\n
The casino scene<\/span><\/h2>\n
Living in Central Pennsylvania<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n