Parx Casino adds Asian table games and a noodle bar

Parx just got bigger - again. It debuted additional table games and a new noodle bar Wednesday at its adjacent Parx East property.

The new games include pai gow, pai gow tiles, Sic Bo, and mini- and midi-baccarat - all popular among Asians.

About 400 new employees, mostly dealers, were hired for the $15 million addition, part of a multiphase expansion planned by the casino over the next couple of years.

Though a significant number of the new games cater to Asians, the ground floor is not purely an Asian gaming pit, like those found in Las Vegas. There are also craps, three- and four-card poker, roulette, and blackjack tables.

Parx East launched a 24-table poker room on the third floor Nov. 3. Wednesday's debut added 71 table games on the first and second floors.

Of those new tables, 21 are for poker. There also are 57 poker tables at the main Parx Casino, which opened a year ago.

Parx East is housed in the former PhillyPark Casino building next door. A branded shuttle ferries customers between the two buildings.

"I think it is significant in a couple of ways," Bob Green, chairman of Parx owner Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc., said of the new offering. "Certainly, it contributes a better mass of table games. We're meeting the demand by doubling the size of our poker room.

"In respect to the ground floor . . . the 50 tables that we've introduced enable us to offer a larger, Asian variety to our mix of games," he said.

Parx plans to open a high-roller High Limit Area in the main casino in the spring.