Jake's 58 casino-hotel expansion to get final site plan vote from Islandia
Suffolk OTB plans to double the number of video lottery terminals and include a new building and parking facilities at Islandia's Jake's 58 Casino hotel. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Islandia Village officials appear set to roll the dice on a major expansion of Jake's 58.
The village board is expected to vote Tuesday at 6 p.m. on a final site plan that includes a new building and additional parking fields at the casino-hotel. Suffolk OTB officials have said they are aiming to open the expanded facilities in early 2025.
The village board voted 4-0 on July 11 to approve a preliminary site plan for the project.
The planned expansion reflects the success of the gaming parlor, which has been one of New York's most profitable betting operations since it opened in February 2017.
The planned expansion by Suffolk OTB comes as state officials get set to award licenses for three Las Vegas-style casinos in the metropolitan area. Possible sites include the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Citi Field in Queens and the Resorts World casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park.
The OTB plan calls for doubling the casino's video lottery gaming terminals from 1,000 to 2,000, adding hundreds of parking spaces and refurbishing hotel rooms. The expanded casino would feature new pubs and bistros.
Suffolk OTB officials have agreed to erect an 800-foot-long, 10-foot-high sound wall to address concerns from nearby homeowners about noise from the casino. About eight families live in a cul-de-sac just east of Jake's 58.
OTB officials are proposing a new 110,000-square-foot building to be constructed behind the existing casino-hotel. Parking would more than triple, from 600 spaces to about 2,000, OTB officials have said.
OTB president Phil Boyle has said the new building would house 1,000 new betting terminals, plus about 500 machines from the current casino. Both buildings would include new bistros and pubs, he said.
The hotel's 210 guest rooms would be upgraded, and a swimming pool and conference rooms that were eliminated to make room for the casino six years ago would be restored, Boyle said.
Construction of a 3½-story parking garage and new parking fields is expected to begin this summer, and casino construction would start around Nov. 1, Boyle said.
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
