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Photo: Victor J. Blue, Bloomberg News Service
Traffic moves past a sign for the Resorts World Catskills casino, hotel and entertainment complex, operated by Empire Resorts Inc. in Monticello, New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. Empire Resorts, controlled by Lim Kok Thay, chairman of Genting Bhd., on Feb. 8 will open Resorts World Catskills, a $1.2 billion casino, hotel and entertainment complex at the site of the old Concord Resort Hotel, the largest of the upstate New York resorts that helped launch the careers of Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Joan Rivers and other Jewish comedians. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
lessTraffic moves past a sign for the Resorts World Catskills casino, hotel and entertainment complex, operated by Empire Resorts Inc. in Monticello, New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. Empire Resorts,
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Helen Solcberg plays a video slot machine at the public opening of Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, N.Y., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. The casino is opening Thursday in the heart of the old "Borscht Belt." It will feature more than 150 table games and 2,150 slot machines about 80 miles northwest of New York City. Promoted as economic boost to this old resort area, it is opening in an increasingly competitive regional market. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
lessHelen Solcberg plays a video slot machine at the public opening of Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, N.Y., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. The casino is opening Thursday in the heart of the old "Borscht Belt." It
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People gamble at the public opening of Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, N.Y., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. The casino is opening Thursday in the heart of the old "Borscht Belt." It will feature more than 150 table games and 2,150 slot machines about 80 miles northwest of New York City. Promoted as economic boost to this old resort area, it is opening in an increasingly competitive regional market. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
lessPeople gamble at the public opening of Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, N.Y., Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. The casino is opening Thursday in the heart of the old "Borscht Belt." It will feature more than 150
... more
NEW YORK'S CASINOS:Click through the slideshow to see New York's 19 gaming facilities: 4 state-licensed casinos in upstate New York; 6 Indian casinos; and 9 racinos.
NEW YORK'S CASINOS:
Click through the slideshow to see New York's 19 gaming facilities: 4 state-licensed casinos in upstate New York; 6 Indian casinos; and 9 racinos.
Photo: Lori Van Buren
Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady, Schenectady County
(John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Rivers Casino & Resort
Schenectady, Schenectady County
(John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
del Lago Resort and CasinoTyre, Seneca County
(Courtesy USA Today Network/Jamie Germano)
del Lago Resort and Casino
Tyre, Seneca County
(Courtesy USA Today Network/Jamie Germano)
Photo: Jamie Germano/@jgermano1/Staff P
Saratoga Casino Hotel Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County
(John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Saratoga Casino Hotel
Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County
(John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Tioga DownsNichols, Tioga County
(Courtesy USA Today Network/Patrick Oehler)
Tioga Downs
Nichols, Tioga County
(Courtesy USA Today Network/Patrick Oehler)
Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers
Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers
Monticello Casino & Raceway
Monticello
Monticello Casino & Raceway
Monticello
Seneca Niagara CasinoNiagara Falls, NY
(AP Photo/David Duprey, File)
Seneca Niagara Casino
Niagara Falls, NY
(AP Photo/David Duprey, File)
Photo: David Duprey
Batavia Downs Gaming & Raceway
Batavia, NY
Batavia Downs Gaming & Raceway
Batavia, NY
Hamburg Gaming at The Fairgrounds
Hamburg, NY
Hamburg Gaming at The Fairgrounds
Hamburg, NY
Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct RacetrackQueens, NY
Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct Racetrack
Queens, NY
Photo: AP
Turning Stone Casino
Verona, NY
Turning Stone Casino
Verona, NY
Akwesasne Mohawk CasinoAkwesasne Reservation, Hogansburg, N.Y.
(Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
Akwesasne Mohawk Casino
Akwesasne Reservation, Hogansburg, N.Y.
(Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
Photo: Lori Van Buren
Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino
Buffalo, NY
Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino
Buffalo, NY
Yellow Brick Road Casino
Chittenango, NY
Yellow Brick Road Casino
Chittenango, NY
Jake's 58 Casino
Suffolk County, Long Island
Jake's 58 Casino
Suffolk County, Long Island
Finger Lakes Gaming & Racing
Farmington, NY
Finger Lakes Gaming & Racing
Farmington, NY
Seneca Allegany Casino
Salamanca, NY
Seneca Allegany Casino
Salamanca, NY
A crane sits on the site of the Resorts World Catskills casino, hotel and entertainment complex, operated by Empire Resorts Inc. in Monticello, New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. Empire Resorts, controlled by Lim Kok Thay, chairman of Genting Bhd., on Feb. 8 will open Resorts World Catskills, a $1.2 billion casino, hotel and entertainment complex at the site of the old Concord Resort Hotel, the largest of the upstate New York resorts that helped launch the careers of Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Joan Rivers and other Jewish comedians. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
lessA crane sits on the site of the Resorts World Catskills casino, hotel and entertainment complex, operated by Empire Resorts Inc. in Monticello, New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. Empire Resorts,
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Revenues sluggish at luxury Catskills casino
THOMPSON — Resorts World Catskills has been held up as the economic savior for a beleaguered region, the most luxurious state-licensed casino yet that caters to the wealthy of New York City.
But its incoming revenue since its February "soft-opening" has been lower than what other state casinos made out of the gate — even taking in $17 million less this spring than del Lago casino, the Finger Lakes facility that has already floated the idea of state tax relief for itself in the face of lackluster business.
Resorts World, built in Sullivan County on the former grounds of the Concord Hotel, had an average of $101 win per slot since February — compared to $155 at del Lago, $204 at Tioga Downs and $256 at Rivers Casino. (The win per slot is the amount left in a slot machine after winnings are paid out, and the industry standard for comparing casinos of all sizes.)
Clyde Barrow, an expert on the casino industry and chairman of the political science department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, said a $100 win per slot is considered very low in the industry. "Anything below $200 is not desirable," Barrow said Monday.
But the $1.2 billion Resort World, and various state leaders, say there is nothing to fear in the numbers — that revenue will increase as Resorts World adds its other attractions such as a family indoor water park and golf course, both slated to open next year.
Charles Degliomini, executive vice president for Resorts World Catskill, wrote in an email to the Times Union that the revenue picture was also impacted by the gaming floor opening before many of the suites and restaurants were finished.
"It will take a much longer time period to accurately assess our business," Degliomini wrote. "In other words, we have four pistons in our engine and currently only have one (the resort casino) operating."
But the gaming forecast for New York has already been troubled.
The year-end revenue totals for the state's three other resort-style casinos, which started opening in December 2016, showed they were just under $200 million off from their own projections when they applied for the state's first licenses in 2014.
And, there are signs gaming revenue is simply being redistributed by drawing money away from nearby racinos -- raceways that have video lottery terminals. For example, Saratoga Casino Hotel revenue was down 18 percent this past year after Rivers' opening in Schenectady.
A January report from Moody's Investment Analysis also warned about gambling saturation in New York, and that the opening of Resorts World Catskills would lead to further cannibalization between the four licensed casinos and racinos.
New York casino wins per slot* in May
Del Lago - $147
Resorts World Catskills - $99
Rivers - $247
Tioga Downs - $196
*Wins per slot indicates how much money is left in a slot machine after winnings are handed out each day. It is the most equitable way to compare casinos that are of varying sizes.
However, State Sen. Republican John Bonacic, an Orange County resident who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, noted the importance of the economic development Resorts World brings, saying in a written statement that the casino "has already provided much needed job creation in a region of the state that has for years struggled with unemployment."
Resorts World said it has created 1,500 jobs, and will get to the 2,400 jobs it promised in its license application once all its attractions are open.
State Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, a Democrat from Mount Vernon and chairman of the Assembly's Committee on Racing and Wagering, said one problem Resorts World has is that there is no disposable income to draw from locally. But Pretlow said he expects that will slowly change as the casino adds attractions for travelers, and brings jobs and other related industries into the Catskills.
"Right now they're dependent totally on people from New York City and Rockland County," Pretlow said, "and that takes time."
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Luxury-Catskill-casino-limps-into-grand-opening-12984925.php
