Resorts World Catskills Sets February 8th Opening Date

Up until the mid 20th century, flocks of tourists used to visit the Catskill Mountain area of New York State and the many small, quaint towns nestled within them. The area has since declined in popularity, but now there’s hope that it may soon reclaim some of its former glory with the opening of a major casino located just 90 miles north of NY city.

The Resorts World Catskills is set to open for business on February 8th, almost a month ahead of its original schedule, with the $1 billion property completing the state’s casino expansion plan first announced back in 2013 which gave the go-ahead for the building of four new casinos in upstate New York.

The Resorts project was also the most ambitious of the four approved, and once opened guests can look forward to the venue featuring 2,150 slot machines and 150 table games, with non-gaming attractions including clubs, restaurants, a 332 bedroom hotel, conference facilities, and an 18-hole golf course. Early next year, the resort is also set to complete its construction of an impressive two-acre indoor water park.

The integrated casino resort is majority-owned by Genting, a Malaysian casino giant founded in 1965 which employs more than 62,000 people worldwide. Another 2,000 jobs are subsequently be expected to be added to that number with the opening of the Resorts World Catskills, and commenting upon the importance of the venue to the local area, Charles Degliomini, the casino’s executive vice president, said.

“With our opening, we look forward to driving tourism to the Catskills, stimulating the economy and making meaningful contributions that help put the Catskills back on the map as a premier getaway and true destination.”

As mentioned, Resorts World Catskills completes a line up of four new casinos for New York, with the others being Rivers Casino in Schenectady, del Lago casino in the Finger Lakes, and Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier. The state will be hoping that the Resorts ultimately proves more popular than its forbears, though, which last year generated revenues around $220 million less than what was originally predicted back in 2014.