At this point in time there's no live Texas holdem poker available in Massachusetts in any casinos. Although there are some promising signs that this will change soon. So, if you live in Boston or somewhere else in the state there's some things to look forward to. In the meantime, you still do have some decent options in respect to finding live poker action without too much inconvenience. Gaming in Massachusetts is mostly acceptable these days with horse and dog racing betting, lottery, bingo, and raffles all permitted. Recently the state has introduced legislation to allow casinos to be built under a series of strict regulations and permits.
This is where the silver lining exists for Massachusetts residents. Currently there are two casinos being constructed in Springfield and Boston Harbor. These are being built and run by MGM and Wynn respectively. This means by 2018 you'll have access to at least two poker rooms and more than 30 tables to get your live poker fill anytime, any day.
This is a great thing for the residents of Massachusetts who in the past have had to commute to Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New Jersey to play live poker. While this isn't such a bad thing and isn't too much of an inconvenience given the relative proximity to most of the larger cities in the state, it's always better to have options in your own backyard. Neighbouring States Until these new casinos are built and operating, you'll need to play your live poker at the above-mentioned establishments.
If you live in Boston or in the southern part of the state, the best place to play is Foxwoods in Connecticut. In the north of the state the best is The Poker Room at Hampton Falls or Seabrook Poker Room, both in New Hampshire. In the western part of the state you'll want to go south into Connecticut as well. From mid-February, you'll also have the option of the casino and poker room at the Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady, New York. Otherwise if you want to take a short flight you can get down to Atlantic City in New Jersey quite quickly where there are still some decent options available in respect to Texas holdem poker.
Other Gaming One casino has already opened in the state and that's Plainridge Park Casino. This features a harness racing track, which has been around for a while, and a slot parlour which opened in 2015. It was since this point that the venue officially became a casino. The casino is in Plainville and is owned and operated by Penn National Gaming, who have deep gaming interests in Pennsylvania and Las Vegas. If you'd like to participate in some form of gaming until the new casinos are open and operating your options will be a bit limited. You can play lottery, raffles, and bingo, and place wagers on horse and dog racing. You can also hit up the Plainridge Park Casino for some slot action, as we outlined above.
This should provide you with some level of entertainment to keep you covered between the poker tables, although if you truly love poker and are a purist you generally wouldn't touch these kinds of things with a ten-foot pole, and that's purely because it's all luck based and the odds are stacked against you. This isn't so true for horse and dog racing, where a little bit of effort and study can result in some modest wins on a long enough time line, but you need to put in a lot of hours and have the patience of a saint to achieve this though. In any case, that's not to say it isn't a lot of fun though, and who doesn't like to have a flutter every now and then on luck based games and the horses and dogs? Online Poker Online poker is currently not regulated in the state of Massachusetts and as such you won't be able to find and play on any local card rooms online.
While online play is still possible through off shore poker sites, this is a bit of a grey area and carries associated risks. The big and respected sites such as Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Party Poker don't welcome any players from Massachusetts, and most of the United States for that matter, so if you are playing online you'll have to go through one of the smaller and less reputable card rooms. The future does look bright for online play though and once New York regulates online play it's anticipated that Massachusetts will quickly follow suit. If you wish to play online casino games from Massachusetts, you can also do so.
You'll be able to find several respected and trusted online casinos that offer slots and tables games, including craps, blackjack, roulette and baccarat. Conclusion While things aren't great in the Bay state at the moment in relation to Texas holdem poker, there's significant change coming in this area in the next few years.
Poker Rooms In Massachusetts
While this will hurt some of the major casinos in the surrounding states it's undoubtedly a good thing for players and will attract a new cohort of players to the game. This will continue to put pressure on lawmakers and representatives to continue to regulate and allow more live poker and games online. The game was in an amazing place prior to black Friday, and we can only hope we'll return to these glory days once more states open live rooms and then online play. This will generate more interest in the game as a sport as well, which will add an extra layer of excitement to the game and attract different demographic groups towards this great game. Things are looking great for Boston and Massachusetts overall, so stay tuned for more updates and only good news for poker in this state.