City’s first casino opens in Queens
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Officials celebrated the opening of Resorts World’s full-fledged casino in Southeast Queens on Tuesday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
The first full-fledged casino in New York City opened on Tuesday in Queens, less than six months after the state approved the creation of two gaming facilities in the borough and one on its door step.
Resorts World New York City officially opened a suite of table games at its pre-existing “racino” in Southeast Queens on Tuesday, making it the first casino to operate in the modern history of the five boroughs.
When the full project is complete, it will be the largest gaming facility in the country.
The opening marked a new chapter in Queens’ casino saga following a years-long, competitive approval process that resulted in the state gaming commission handing coveted downstate gaming licenses to Resorts World and Metropolitan Park in Queens and Bally’s in the Bronx at the foot of the Whitestone Bridge.
Supporters of Queens’ projects believe the casinos could make the borough a new economic powerhouse and a global destination, keeping travellers within its borders after they arrive at one of the city’s two airports, both of which are located in Queens.
“I have always dreamt of Queens being an international entertainment hub,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said from Resorts World’s lobby on Tuesday. “This certainly is part of that puzzle.”
The “reimagined” third floor of the existing Resorts World building opened with over 240 table games that will offer blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette. The floor also features thousands of slot machines.
“It's not just the first commercial casino, this is going to be a tectonic shift where the center of entertainment in New York, where the center of gaming entertainment is going to be right here in this building,” said Resorts World Strategy Chief & Legal Officer Kevin Jones.
Genting Group, which owns Resorts World, was one of eight developers to initially throw their hat in the ring to secure a downstate license.
The “reimagined” third floor of the existing Resorts World building opened with over 240 table games that will offer blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette and thousands of slot machines. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
Central to the Malaysian-based conglomerate’s pitch was that they were the only bidder with a pre-existing building, and thus could open their casino operation within months of approval.
They also came to the table with little community pushback, unlike Metropolitan Park, which was approved, and projects in Manhattan and Brooklyn that ultimately failed to materialize because of local resistance.
“Person after person, the organization stood up to get their testimony on behalf of the great work of Resorts World New York City,” said Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato, who sat on the community advisory committee that approved Resorts World unanimously last year. “We were sitting back, ready to have the smoke and call it a day, but the positive reinforcement came from our community because the relationship that [Resort’s World] developed over time was unbelievable.”
To celebrate the opening, the CEO of Genting, KT Lim, was first to roll the dice on a craps table.
The flashy ribbon cutting concluded with a brief performance of “If I Ruled the World,” from Queensbridge-born rapper Nas, who was a public backer of the project.
“I’m a Queens native, so you already know this means everything for me to be a part of this,” said the hip-hop legend.
Resorts World’s proposed $5.5 billion plan for the 72-acre site includes the introduction of 6,000 additional 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 opened the first phase of its full-fledged $5.5 billion casino plan on Tuesday. Rendering via Resorts World
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 NBA legend Kenny Smith, a Queens native.
The full project is scheduled to be completed in 2031.
Metropolitan Park, the $8 billion casino plan from Mets owner Steve Cohen, is in its pre-construction phase, according to a spokesperson.
“Metropolitan Park is rapidly advancing its pre-construction activities ahead of the next phase of construction work,” said spokesperson Karl Rickett.
The casino, which will be built in Citi Field’s parking lot, is scheduled to be completed in 2030.
