Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, Chester

My wife and I have been going every other month for a couple years now and we love this place. First, I would like to address the bad reviews. This place is smack dab in the middle of Redneck Hillbilly, USA, and these people are proud of that. It is not the Las Vegas strip. I feel that the negative reviews from others are from expectations that are too high. I've never had a problem with the staff, and the receptionists always go out of their way to find us the room we want ( a lot of times when we make reservations they say the suites are full but they find us one when we check in ). The suites and junior suites are lovely and extremely comfortable. When those aren't available, we are happy to stay in the standard rooms. The courtyard and pool are pretty nice. The table games are fantastic. Pit bosses always make sure you get paid right when you make a big hit, but no one is perfect so you have to watch your money. I've lost here, but I've also walked out with $5,000 once and lesser amounts other times. Its just making good bets and being at the right place at the right time. My wife plays her slots all night on $100.00. The real bonus of this place is the track. At 7pm you can take a break and try to hit a trifecta. The food trackside is great and there is a little bar over there. If you are looking for flashing lights and wizzbang perks and employees treating you like a king/queen because you spent $10, this place is not for you. But if you are in the notheastern midwest want to get to a full featured casino quickly and be able to smoke a cigarette without everyone treating you like a 1st degree felon, you'll love this place.

After getting an "enticement" of $50 FreePlay, I went back (first mistake!) and played, staying after 12 AM so I could redeem my second $50 play. Well, the slot machines ate that quickly + several hundred $$ I had taken. I never heard anyone yell or scream they had won, machines were filthy, ashtrays unemptied at the slots and the final downer was the buffet was closed due to "upgrading"! Didn't this just open less than a year ago? As a diabetic, I was forced to stand in a line that ran the length of the room upstairs for over 35 minutes to get a lousy hot dog! I was half sick by then! And, of course, there was NOWHERE to sit!!! The entire place reeks of cigarette smoke, including the stalls in the ladies' room. Now, this past w/e, I went to The Rivers Casino in Pgh. and "fell in love"! Their earnings have turned around and they are "giving back" to the public. The 6 people I always go gambling with have vowed NEVER to go back to The Mountaineer! We all won and came home with more $ than we took! Winners were announced continuously, you could hear the slots going off everywhere we sat, the employees were sooooooo nice and friendly, it was spotless and on a Saturday night, despite being crowded, we could play and not smell like we were in the world's biggest ashtray! Parking in the garage was easy, plenty of space and brightly lit....we felt safe, unlike the parking at The Mountaineer. My party of 6 WILL NOT EVER return to The Mountaineer! Thank heavens, I recouped my losses from going to The Mountaineer at The Rivers. There is no enticement worth my having to inhale second hand smoke, risking lung disease, playing machines that never hit and eating average food. I need to support my own state. Wake up, Pennsylvanians!!!

My husband and I have spent a lot of money at Mountaineer over the last couple years . I mainly shoot craps, play Texas Hold 'Em, 3 Card Poker and Let it Ride. I'll also play video poker and some slots. My husband plays the same games except he does not shoot craps. We use to get room comps frequently. We have not recieved anything in 8 months except those stupid contest entries. What do you have to spend to get a discount room rate. I'm not looking for a "free" room just a reasonable rate. We won't pay the regular rooms rates as they are ridiculous - it's not exactly what I'd call a resort area! In contrast, we've been to Wheeling Island one time about 18 months ago and they still send us room coupons for $39 Sunday through Thursday! People tell us you have to play the slots for the comps but we use to always get them and never played the slots. We only started playing thinking we'd get some room coupons!

I think its very funny that when someone is mad or a sore loser that all they can say is "wait till Ohio gets casino"..heard the same thing EVERYDAY about pa and now that they are open and not doing all the well..its on to ohio and you all are kidding yourself if you think for a minute that Ohio wont be the same way. Its called gambling if you dont want to lose sometimes then stay home!!!

I have been to casinos all over the US and beyond....save your money on the slots....you NEVER see anyone win ....I am not grumbling....simply the facts....the casinos will be in Ohio sooooooooooon!!!!!!!!

I've read what all of you have written here and must say that it is an interesting read! I recently started working at Mountaineer and have heard that the winnings have dropped dramatically but wasn't aware of how severely. My apologies to all that have had a bad experience. I don't like my job at all but it is a "full time" position. It's only supplying about 69 hours every 2 weeks now so life is increasingly harder! In the hotel, we have made many improvements to the conditions of the rooms. Our new manager has worked tirelessly to supply us with tools that will give the guest the most clean rooms a person could stay in. Unfortunately, it does fall to the amount of time we have to clean those rooms. In these economic times, we're forced to cut back just as any other company surviving a depression/recession. (whichever you choose to call it) Our management is spending money to regain the hotel business. It sucks being at the bottom of the food chain there but regardless of what I may think of the internal workings or the people that work there, someone has to stand up and say "Yo! When was the last time you stayed a night in the hotel?" These changes have been happening since mid summer! There are other alternatives locally, or even at a distance for gambling establishments. And when those establishments get some age on them, they'll be dusty rejects too. Where will you go then? Where will I go to work if no one returns to Mountaineer? All this blasting doesn't help either of us! Put you concerns in at the front desk and we'll take the crap for it and fix it! That's what comment cards do for us. Internally, we're a mess! To the guest in our hotel, we should be showing signs of improvement. At least I pray our efforts are being noticed. We are working desperately to reduce dust, using new products to ensure our bathrooms and "touch" areas of the rooms are sanitized, our beds are consistent (i.e., sheets match, comforters perfectly white, and all beds are made exactly the same in every room), not to mention our ac/heat units are disinfected on a more consistent basis. Please don't misunderstand me, I hate my job! I have to have one and if it means coming to this site and letting the public know what changes are being made to get the word out that "we" (not just management) care about our reviews and the return business that we generate to keep that paycheck, then that's what needs to be done... By the way, who is the new owner anyway? What's his name cause I have a few ideas I'd like to share with him since Ohio has now voted in favor of gambling. His personal email address would be real helpful!!!

As a former employee of almost 10 yrs I have to say that this place went down hill ever sense it was taken over by Bob Griffen...I loved working there but the new owners are the reson i left. I got tired of being yelled at by patrons because MANAGMENT was closeing every thing to early and you had to walk clear across the building to cash a ticket...As for the replacing the older machines with new ones i will admit it sux but its something that had to be done due do manafacture upgrades.Remember slots are basiclly computers and after awhile computers need to be upgraded..Now as for the rude employes you would be rude to if you got yelled at 24/7 for something thats not your fault. After a while of being yelled at it starts to get to you plus when the company does'nt pay there employees that has something to due with it also..for an example...Most people that work there started out making lets say $7.50 and after working there for 8 years and your now makeing $8.90..Thats enought to piss any one off....When you get a perfect evaluation and your raise is only .12 cents thats just wrong...So please don't take it out on the employes its not always their fault. It go alot deeper than that.

I have been going to mountaineer for about 5 years now 2 or 3 times a week. I have spent a large amount of money there. Last night a lady came up to me, which she looked like a manager, and told me that if I put any more tickets in a machine that already had money in it that somebody left, that I was going to have to leave. She said that is Mountaineer's money and I was never to play a machine where some one had left credits in them. I am never going back, I was so embarassed. She said they were watching me. Watching me do what? I am simply playing machines. I didn't know I did anything wrong. According to them, they just want you to feed the machine that you are sitting at and not to move around.

My husband and I used to visit Mountaineer 2 0r 3 times a month. Sometimes more. At least when Ted Arnot was there, the slots paid out better. Now with the new management, it is worse than ever. I do not like the new penny, nickle , dime machines. I liked the quarter machines they removed to put these new machines in. AT least I could win a little on the quarter machines. Now these machines are too tight and don;t payout anything like before, therefore, I am not visiting mountaineer as before. Maybe never , unless Management gets their act together and starts opening those machines again. Mountaineer used to be a nice place to go, but I don;t like the changes made in the food court, and do not like all the new machines, and I know many others who complained about the changes. I feel sorry for the staff, they don;t get paid much, and current management is nothing but a bunch of greedy vultures.

I visited this resort last year for a convention and have another coming up soon, which will also be held here. I am speaking from last year's experience and will update to this year's soon. Every corner of the resort, except for your non-smoking room, is filled with smoke. For those of us with asthma or any difficulty at all, it is torture. We didn't have time to go see a horse race, but my favorite time there was being outside at night watching the horses run from a distance. The jockeys seemed to appreciate our being there, too. The food is so-so, the meeting rooms are nice, but you have to go through the gambling areas to get to the meeting rooms, which means you smell as though you smoke three packs a day by the time you get to your meeting. Everyone on the staff was friendly and helpful. If you are a smoker and a gambler, this is nirvana for you.