Resorts World to open city’s first full-fledged casino next week

Resorts World’s new casino is scheduled to open next week.  Rendering via Resorts World

By Ryan Schwach

The city’s first full-fledged casino will open next week at Resorts World in Southeast Queens, the result of a multi-year application and approval process that will soon lead to two casinos opening in the borough and a third on its doorstep.

Resorts World, which has operated as a “racino” in Queens for about a decade, will open parts of their new expanded casino on Tuesday, April 28, pending a final greenlight from the New York Gaming Commission.

On Tuesday, Resorts World will unveil a “reimagined” third floor with over 240 table games that will offer blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette and thousands of slot machines.

The Southeast Queens casino is the first to open after the commission approved three downstate casino licenses in December; Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park in Willets Point, and Bally’s casino in the Bronx at the foot of the Whitestone Bridge, also received licenses.

A major aspect of Resorts World’s pitch to the commission was that, as a pre-existing institution, they would be able to open parts of the new casino within six months of approval.

"New York City has never seen anything like what we're planning for April 28,” said Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, Resorts World’s parent company. “Once the Gaming Commission’s final testing is complete, live table games will be open and operating right here in Queens for the first time in the history of New York City. We are ready to welcome New Yorkers to this exciting new experience.”

Malaysian Chinese billionaire Lim Kok Thay, the CEO of Genting, will attend the opening, as will Queens-born rapper Nas, who was a public backer of the project.

Resorts World’s proposed $5.5 billion on the 72-acre site includes the introduction of 6,000 more slot machines and 800 table games to the gaming establishment. A new hotel would bring 2,000 new rooms in addition to the 400 existing units at the Hyatt Regency.

Resorts World also plans to build a 7,000-seat entertainment venue and 12 new acres of green space.

The plan also includes the Resorts World Innovation Campus, which would feature a sports and media complex shaped by Queens native and NBA legend Kenny Smith.

The full project is scheduled to be completed in 2031.