Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway in Bangor, Maine, allows players to bet on both live harness racing and a variety of casino games. This is a reflection on the operation’s long history, which began when a harness racing track was built on the site in 1893. At the time, Bangor was an important part of the local timber and shipbuilding industries on the Penobscot River.
When slot machines became legal in the state of Maine for the first time in 2005, the Raceway became a racino, offering racing betting as well as your favourite online pokies. The Hollywood Casino Bangor, as it is generally known, was the first legal slots operation in Maine. A dedicated slots casino was built adjacent to the Raceway, and renovated and extended to include casino table games, when they also became legal in the state in 2012.
The casino’s main focus is still slots, however, and there are more than 920 titles available. Apart from video poker and video roulette, these titles include reel and video slot games like More Hearts, Jaguar Princess, Sphinx 3D and Michael Jackson. Bets start as low as 1c and go as high as $10 per spin on the main casino floor, but there is also a High Limit area for those who can afford to play for big stakes, with significantly improved jackpots.
Table Games and Progressive Jackpots
Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway hosts a small selection of table and card games, like Roulette, Blackjack, Craps and Three-Card Poker. Those who prefer five-card Poker hands will find both Limit and No-Limit versions of 7-Card Stud, Texas Hold’em and Omaha. Live Poker is also available.
Some Poker variations pay progressive jackpots on rare card combinations; the Bad Beat progressive jackpot, for example, pays players who stake a Bad Beat bet a significant bonus if they get a strong Four of a Kind hand that is beaten by a Straight Flush. The Poker Room also provides regular promotions, special tournaments and other incentive bonuses.
Using Hollywood Casinos’ Marquee Rewards Programme
All the operations in the Hollywood Casino stable, including Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway, are linked into the same loyalty programme: Marquee Rewards. There are five levels of membership, and players who sign up increase their levels by amassing loyalty points. Rewards include comps to spend at stores, restaurants and hotels within the group, as well as regular promotional bonuses and special tournaments exclusively for club members.
Owned and Operated by Penn
Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway is part of the Hollywood Casino chain, with décor and games themed around Hollywood wealth and glamour. The chain, started in 1993, was acquired in 2003 by Penn National Gaming. This casino and racetrack corporation now operates 27 facilities across the USA and Canada.
In Bangor, while slots and casino games continue to grow in popularity, the horse-racing is not being neglected either. Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway presents several harness racing meeting per year, and players can also bet on regular simulated races hosted in the casino.