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• The investigation began on January 19, 2018, when detectives were notified by the casino staff related to several inconsistencies with a “Bad Beat” poker game, with a jackpot of $166,471.00.

First let’s mention the largest bad beat jackpot in town. It involves seven of the poker rooms owned by the Caesars Entertainment chain of properties. By combining rooms, this jackpot is the largest in Sin City. Started in January of 2013, the jackpot has grown to over $900,000 at times.

Theodora Tallon likes to play in poker tournaments, and although

doesn’t have them, it’s still her casino of choice.

It’s the closest to her home in the Berks County borough of Boyertown. And in March, she won $75,000 off a bad beat jackpot.

So with Sands’ bad beat jackpot topping $330,000 on Wednesday, Tallon was there waiting for a seat at the table.

Tallon is far from the only person coming to Sands for its table games on a regular basis. After ranking anywhere in the top half to third of Pennsylvania’s 10 casinos in terms of table games take, Sands since May has been consistently No. 1 or 2.

, besting even casino behemoth Parx in lower Bucks County, which has 183 table games to Sands’ 129. Sands also has the state’s second-highest-ever table games take,

Sands has gone from an average $5.1 million a month in table games revenues in 2010 to a $7.4 million average in the first five months of 2011 to a $9.8 million average in the most recent five months. Table games revenues are taxed at 16 percent.

Sands does better with its table games than its slots, where this year the casino ranked anywhere from second to fourth. But Sands’ improved table games performance also may be boosting its slots rank. Since the summer, when Sands started consistently being No. 1 and 2 in table games, Sands has consistently ranked No. 2 or 3 in slots, as well.

, which casino President Robert DeSalvio said is a factor in Sands’ improved table games take. The hotel has brought in new out-of-area table games customers and also allows players to stay over multiple days, he said.

But DeSalvio said there are many other factors contributing to Sands’ bigger table numbers.

, he said. Since then, Sands has boosted its table games staff from 230 dealers to about 585 total staff members, DeSalvio said.

With the new staff, Sands also was able to add 40 table games to its original offering of 89. The Pennsylvania casinos that do the best with table games are generally the ones that have the most.

But more tables does not necessarily mean more money, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman Richard McGarvey said.

Casinos generally have a multiyear ramp-up period, and Sands, which opened in May 2009, is more likely to still grow its customer base compared with a place like Parx, which opened in 2006, McGarvey said. Sands also is helped by its amenities that most other Pennsylvania casinos don’t have, including its hotel, seven restaurants, outlet mall and upcoming events center, McGarvey said.

DeSalvio said he also thinks the casino’s amenities are a factor, as are the regional amenities as a whole. Sands now is seeing walking traffic with the opening of the SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, he said.

Sands also is helped by a strong regional interest in poker and its proximity to the major population bases of New York City and New Jersey, DeSalvio said.

Sands’ table games success was not a surprise to some industry analysts.

Sands Bethlehem was designed especially for table games players and he expected its table game business to increase substantially once the hotel opened.

Kutztown-area residents Troy Butz and Amanda Hordendorf also say Sands is their preferred casino for table games. They had gone to Atlantic City a couple times for blackjack before Sands opened but they haven’t been back since.

It isn't often that a player takes a monster beat and still finds himself a winner, but for Steve Gedney, his recent Bad Beat Jackpot win at Caesars Atlantic City paid off in spades when his quad fours fell victim to rivered quad Aces. Although he lost the hand, Gedney walked away a monster winner, taking the record for the largest Bad Beat payout to date — $553,958.

The heads at Caesars are thrilled that Gedney's win has helped draw attention to the casino's poker room. 'This is an unforgettable day for everyone at Caesars, especially our loyal players and dedicated poker team,' said Joe Domenico, senior vice president and general manager of Caesars Atlantic City.

'The energy building in our poker room over these past months has been incredible and to see it culminate in this record setting jackpot couldn't be more rewarding. As the leader in table games action in Atlantic City for over 30 years it seems only fitting that this record Bad Beat Jackpot stay at Caesars,' he said.

The Bad Beat Progressive Jackpot at Caesars Atlantic City is a prize paid when the four-of-a-kind is shown down and the player loses to an even stronger hand held by another player. When a jackpot is won, it is split among all players sitting at the table at the time of the bad beat with the losing hand getting the largest share. The breakdown sees 50 percent go to the losing player, 25 percent goes to the winning player, and the remaining seven players that the table see the last 25 percent equally divided amongst them.

Bad Beat Jackpot Payouts:

Pa Sands Poker Bad Beat Jackpot Rules

Losing Hand, First Place: Steve Gedney - $276,979.
Winning Hand, Second Place: Chris Dobrzanski - $138,489

The remaining seven players at the table each took home $19,784.

Pa Sands Poker Bad Beat Jackpots

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Pa Sands Poker Bad Beat Jackpot Odds

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