Resorts World $400m NY project breaks ground

Resorts World Casino New York City has officially broken ground on a reported $400m expansion, at its property at the Aqueduct Race track, Queens.

The large scale expansion will include a hotel, and several new restaurants to supplement a growing of its gaming machines portfolio,and is scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2019.

The ability to retain custom beyond a singular visit is becoming an ever-increasingly important aspect of casino performance, and Scott Molina, President of Resorts World Casino New York City said: “We are incredibly excited to break ground on this extraordinary project, which will welcome visitors from around the world to enjoy the ultimate play, stay, dine and shop experience right here in Queens.

”Resort World’s parent company, Genting, to date has already invested more than $1bn in the property which has included an outlay of $700m to retrofit the racetrack grandstand. According to a media handout on the project Genting has long planned to bring the premises in line with the wider trend of gaming diversification and establish the property as an integrated resort akin to those in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

The location reportedly sees 10 million visitors per year,and the amenities expansion move represents a bold statement of intent both in the burgeoning New York state gaming market but also as an act against the growing gaming markets in Connecticut to the east, and both Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south.