Pittsburgh has exactly one casino inside its city limits. Rivers Casino sits on the North Shore between the football and baseball stadiums. Every other option is a drive: The Meadows about forty minutes south, Live! Casino Pittsburgh thirty miles east, and the Casino at Nemacolin inside a resort in the Laurel Highlands. The four could hardly be more different, so the right choice depends on whether you want poker, racing, a quick session or a resort weekend.
Why the map looks like this
Pennsylvania's 2017 gaming expansion created a smaller licence class for satellite casinos and made each one sit a set distance from the established properties. That is why the newest floor serving Pittsburgh is in a Greensburg mall car park rather than in the city. It also explains the size gap. Rivers and The Meadows are full casinos, while Live! is deliberately mid-sized. Players must be 21 at all four.
Side by side
| Rivers Casino Pittsburgh | Hollywood Casino at The Meadows | Live! Casino Pittsburgh | Casino at Nemacolin | |
| Where | North Shore, in the city | Washington, about 40 minutes south | Greensburg, about 30 miles east | Farmington, about 40 miles south-east |
| Slots | 2,200+ | About 2,500 | About 750 | About 500 machines |
| Table games | 100+ | 65 | 40+ | 22 |
| Poker | 30 tables, seven days | Poker room, narrower schedule | No dedicated room noted | None |
| Extras | 5,500 sq ft sportsbook | Harness racing, 24 bowling lanes, hotel | High-limit room | 2,200-acre luxury resort |
| Google rating | 4.0, 17,000+ reviews | 4.0, 6,700+ reviews | 4.1, 3,100+ reviews | 3.7, about 1,800 reviews |
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh: the city casino
Rivers is the only choice if you want to stay in Pittsburgh, and it is a strong one. The floor carries more than 2,200 slot machines and over 100 table games, including mini baccarat, Three Card Poker and Mississippi Stud alongside the usual blackjack, craps and roulette. The detail worth knowing is the Rush Table Zone, which runs live blackjack and roulette from a $5 minimum, low for a major-market casino. The poker room has 30 tables and runs seven days a week, making it the serious room in western Pennsylvania. On game days, the 5,500-square-foot BetRivers sportsbook fills with fans from the stadiums next door. Full Rivers review.
The Meadows: the biggest slot floor
If machines are your game, The Meadows is the larger room in the region, with about 2,500 slots and 65 tables. It is also a working harness track. Live racing runs Wednesday to Friday from October to April and Wednesday to Saturday the rest of the year, with most cards going to post at 12:45pm, so you can watch a card over lunch and be on the floor by mid-afternoon. A bowling centre and a connected hotel make it the most complete complex near Pittsburgh. Full Meadows review.
Live! Casino Pittsburgh: tables on a mid-sized floor
Live! opened in November 2020 as Pennsylvania's first satellite casino, at a cost of around $150 million. Its roughly 750 slots are modest, but it runs more than 40 live table games, a high ratio for its size, so you can usually find an open seat. Despite the name, it is in Greensburg, not Pittsburgh. Full Live! Pittsburgh review.
The Casino at Nemacolin: a resort amenity
Nemacolin's 3.7 rating says more about expectations than about the casino. Guests arrive at a 2,200-acre luxury resort and find about 500 machines and 22 tables, smaller than many highway racinos. Judged as a gaming amenity inside a resort, with a high-limit lounge to match, it is perfectly good. There is no poker room. It operated as Lady Luck Nemacolin before its current name. Full Nemacolin review.
Which one to choose
- Poker: Rivers, with 30 tables daily.
- Slots: The Meadows, with the largest machine count.
- Low-stakes live tables: Rivers' $5 Rush Table Zone, or Live! for an easier seat.
- A weekend away: Nemacolin, for the resort rather than the casino.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a casino in downtown Pittsburgh?
Yes, one. Rivers Casino on the North Shore is the only casino inside Pittsburgh's city limits.
What is the closest casino to Pittsburgh with horse racing?
Hollywood Casino at The Meadows in Washington, about forty minutes south, runs live harness racing.
Where is Live! Casino Pittsburgh?
In Greensburg, about 30 miles east of the city, beside Westmoreland Mall.
How old do you have to be to gamble in Pittsburgh casinos?
For sweepstakes options you can play from home in Pennsylvania, see our best sweepstakes casinos in Pennsylvania guide.
