Resorts World NYC casino opens in Queens, the first with table games in New York City
Resorts World New York City opened its doors in Queens on Tuesday as the Big Apple's first table games casino.
The facility in South Ozone Park is a multi-billion-dollar expansion of the Aqueduct Race Track's existing casino. It has more than 240 table games, including blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette.
Casino will be "really transformational" for the area
Rapper Nas, a partner in the expansion, cast the first dice following the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He was joined by other elected officials, community leaders and entertainers.
"Let's talk about the economic shot in the arm that's going to be coming to South Ozone Park," Queens Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato said.
Brian O'Dwyer, the chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission, previously said the casino will create hundreds of new jobs.
"We have three new casinos. Hundreds, if not thousands, of good union jobs coming into the communities," he said. "It's going to be really transformational for those communities."
Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, which operates major gaming and hospitality properties in the Northeast, said Resorts World New York City has now doubled its workforce, with more expected over the next three years.
The table games are part of the first phase. The $5 billion expansion project includes adding an additional hotel wing, a 7,000-seat entertainment venue, an indoor day club with pools, a spa and much more.
The proposals for three casinos across the New York area were approved in December.
The two other casinos are Steve Cohen's Metropolitan Park in Queens and Bally's Bronx. They are both expected to open in 2030.
Patrons are thrilled
Local residents came from all over to enjoy the convenience of having table games so close to home.
"It's the first day they're doing this in New York. We're so used to going to casinos, and to have live dealers is fun," one man said.
"You don't have to go to Jersey!" a woman declared.
Casinos in NYC are a "race to the bottom," opponent says
Opponents cited pollution and other environmental concerns. Some believe the casinos will do more harm than good. Queens native Jack Hu called it a "race to the bottom."
"This issue is personal for me because my mother and I have watched my father struggle with gambling for over three decades," Hu said. "We know that casinos are a very financially exploitative business model. I don't understand this point of view of celebrating it. I think, if anything, communities should be mourning the harm that it will cause."
