Resorts World New York City is set to launch live table games on April 28, marking the first time in the city’s history that full-scale casino gaming has been available within its borders – reports New York Post. The expanded gaming floor will feature approximately 200 tables — including blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette — transforming the long-running Queens racino into the city’s first and only full-scale casino.
“New York City has never seen anything like what we’re planning for April 28,” said Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East. “Live table games will be open and operating right here in Queens for the first time in the history of New York City.”
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A head start over the competition
Resorts World holds a significant advantage over the two other downstate casino licensees — Metropolitan Park and Bally’s Bronx — both of which are starting from scratch and targeting completion around 2030. That gives Resorts World an effective four-year head start as the city’s sole operational full casino.
The April 28 launch will also create around 1,250 new jobs, including roughly 950 dealers, bringing the total workforce to 2,200 — with expectations to exceed 2,700 by summer.
A prize that attracted the biggest gambling companies in the world
The scale of the New York opportunity was never in doubt — and the licensing process reflected that. The downstate casino race attracted some of the biggest gambling companies in the world, including Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, Hard Rock International, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and Mohegan Gaming. Despite being considered a frontrunner, MGM withdrew its application late in the process. The fact that so many of the biggest gambling companies in the world competed aggressively for these three licences underlines just how significant the New York City market is expected to become — and why Resorts World’s early mover advantage is so strategically valuable.
The bigger picture
The full $5.5 billion build-out, targeting completion in 2030, will ultimately include up to 800 table games, 6,000 slot machines, 2,000 hotel rooms and a 7,000-seat entertainment venue — positioning Resorts World as one of the largest casino properties in the United States.
Analysts project New York City’s gross gaming revenue could reach between $4.7 billion and $6.5 billion by 2031, placing it second only to Las Vegas as the largest gaming market in the country. Resorts World will effectively be testing that market alone for the next several years.
