Resorts World NYC opens full casino in Queens with table games, live dealers
KT Lim, the chairman of Resorts World's parent company, rolls a ceremonial dice to open the casino on Tuesday as the famed hip-hop star Nas looks on. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Let the gambling begin.
On Tuesday, an expanded Resorts World debuted as New York City's first casino to offer table games with live dealers.
"We have hit the jackpot, Queens!" said the borough's president, Donovan Richards, in remarks before a ceremonial roll of the dice.
The opening represents the beginning of full casinos in downstate New York: The casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens got one of three state licenses, with the others planned for Hard Rock Casino next to Citi Field in Queens and one in the Bronx that will be built by Bally's at Ferry Point, both to open around 2030.
About 1,250 new jobs have been created for the expanded Resorts World, bringing the total to over 2,000, company officials said.
Resorts World has been open since 2011 at the site of South Ozone Park’s Aqueduct Racetrack, but it was not a full-fledged casino, instead offering video gambling terminals.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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