Rivers Casino Pittsburgh Celebrates 15th Anniversary With New Events Space

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh turns 15 years old in August. In anticipation of celebrating its quindecennial, the resort owned and operated by Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming recently finished a $6.6 million refreshment of the property.  

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh events rewards
The newly opened Bridges Ballroom at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh overlooks the Ohio River. Rivers Casino recently spent $6.6 million to update and expand its events spaces and offer VIPs a dedicated players’ lounge. (Image: Rivers Casino Pittsburgh)

The investment focused on events, with the $6.6 million budget primarily allocated towards updating and expanding the casino’s ballrooms.

The project included a new events room called the Bridges Ballroom, a 7,044-square-foot second-floor venue overlooking the Ohio River. The indoor-outdoor space features a balcony and panoramic views of the river. Bridges can be broken down into three smaller rentable spaces ranging from the 1,151-square-foot Fort Duquesne Room to the 4,036-square-foot Fort Pitt Room.

Rivers added four private meeting rooms, too. The breakout spaces offer executives and boards an array of configurations.

With the [city’s professional sports] stadiums and other nearby attractions on the North Shore — not to mention our own full-service gaming floor, BetRivers Sportsbook, and The Landing Hotel — our events calendar fills up quickly,” Bud Green, general manager of Rivers Pittsburgh, said in a statement. “We’re happy to provide new spaces and more dates for hosting conferences, weddings, and special events.”

The casino’s largest space — the 25,000-square-foot Event Center — also underwent a refurbishment. The concert hall has sold out numerous shows from such acts as Boyz II Men, K.C. & The Sunshine Band, and an appearance from “Long Island Medium” star Theresa Caputo.

Player Amenities

Along with the event capabilities being expanded and upgraded, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh added amenities for gamblers. In addition to a full-service Starbucks Coffee located just inside the casino’s front entrance, Rivers opened a dedicated lounge for its VIPs.

The Black Card Room is billed as the casino’s “ultra-exclusive” casino retreat for Rush Rewards Players Club members who have achieved the loyalty program’s highest tier. The Black Card Room opened at the end of 2023.

To become a Black Card member in the Rush Rewards program, a patron must acquire a minimum of 25,000 tier points in six months. Rewards players receive a single tier point for every $5 played on slots and for every $10 bet on sports. Table games excluding poker award points based on average wager and length of play. Video poker provides a half point for every $5 played.

100 points equals $1 in free food and beverage. 200 points can be redeemed for $1 in free slot play.

Black Card members receive complimentary stays at Atlantis in the Bahamas, free priority valet, free check cashing, slot holds upon request, and four annual complimentary nights at Rio Las Vegas.

Rivers Market Share

Pennsylvania’s 17 brick-and-mortar commercial casinos last year generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $3.435 billion on their slots and table games.

Rivers Pittsburgh won $267.3 million on its slots to rank third in the state. The casino’s felt kept $87.2 million of players’ bets to place fifth.

With a combined GGR of approximately $354.5 million, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh maintained a more than 10% market share of the Pennsylvania casino industry in 2023.

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Ontario Regulator Stops Betting on World Boxing Association Events

ontario_halts_world_boxing_association_betting_over_integrity_concernsThe Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the government body in charge of regulating sports betting and gambling in Canada’s most populous province, has ordered all licensed operators in the region to stop offering bets on events organized by the World Boxing Association (WBA).

The measure was due to concerns over the integrity of those events after the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario ruled that boxing matches organized by the WBA do not have adequate safeguards in place when it comes to preventing match fixing and insider betting. This all started after the regulator conducted a thorough review of the wagering activity of a title fight organized by the World Boxing Association.

The respective bout was the one between Yoenis Tellez and Livan Navarro, when the Ontario regulator observed suspicious betting patterns in live bets being placed over five and a half rounds during the match. The bout was observed by two registered independent monitors while the betting activity took place at a registered iGaming operator in the Canadian province.

There were also reports in the media claiming that the manager of Yoenis Tellez placed bets worth 110,000 dollars at a casino in Florida on the match going on for over five and a half rounds. The bet was a winning one as the match went on until the tenth round, when Tellez managed to knock out Navarro.

All Eyes on Insider Betting

The match took place in December 2023 in Florida and that is also when the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario started its review of the matter. One of the conclusions of the respective review was that bets related to boxing matches organized by the WBA don’t meet the current version of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming. This led to the indefinite suspension of betting on WBA events in Ontario.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario also underlined that its licensed operators were asked to demonstrate that the WBA prohibits betting from insiders and the respective operators were unable to do that. This means that coaches, managers, handlers or medical staff involved with one of the fighters could place bets on the respective matches while having the benefit of knowing non-public information. Moreover, the review found no proof that the World Boxing Association took any action to investigate past allegations of match fixing and insider wagering.

This is not the first time the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario takes such a measure. In December 2022 the regulator ordered licensed operators to stop offering bets on UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) matches following similar concerns over insider betting. That ban lasted just for a few weeks because the UFC then implemented new protocols to prevent insider betting.

Source: “Ontario halts World Boxing Association betting over integrity concerns“. iGaming Business. April 19, 2024.

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