Resorts World Casino opens in New York City

New York City’s first full-scale casino with live table games opened for gamblers on Tuesday, more than a decade after voters approved expanded gambling in the state.

Resorts World, owned by Malaysia-based Genting, beat gaming giants such as Wayne Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Caesar Entertainment and MGM Resorts To obtain one of the three new casino licenses.

It is the first company to be launched because it was already running a slot machine and electronic gambling facility, one of the most profitable in the world. Resorts World New York City is located next to Aqueduct Raceway and just a few miles from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

“We obtained the license on December 15, and here we are on April 28 welcoming our guests to the new casino floor,” Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, said in an interview.

To operate roulette, craps, baccarat and blackjack, Resorts World recruited some dealers from casinos in other states. But it also runs something of an agent college, training locals to handle table moves.

The company says the current expansion has already created more than 1,200 new jobs, with 500 new employees expected to be hired by this summer.

Although it has not yet opened, the company is also building a sportsbook, which will be the first of its kind in the city.

“We hit the jackpot, Queens!” Town President Donovan Richards made the announcement at the opening ceremony.

“I’ve always dreamed of Queens becoming a world-class entertainment hub, and this is certainly part of that puzzle,” Richards said.

The Queens-raised hip-hop star Nass is a partner in the project and performed at the opening ceremony.

“This is just the beginning. So this is about to expand and do things that everyone will be excited about. So Queens is where it’s at,” he told CNBC.

The project has faced criticism, with some local residents expressing concern about a potential rise in crime and traffic as a result of the development.

For now, the casino will have a monopoly in the city, saying it pays 63% state taxes on slot machine revenue and 30% on table game revenue. In its bid for a licence, the company included a clause stipulating that its tax rate would fall to the levels paid by its competitors once they were up and running.

It will take years for other casinos to open. Bally’s is building a casino on a Bronx golf course purchased from the Trump Organization. Meanwhile, Hard Rock planned a massive development in partnership with hedge fund manager and Mets owner Steve Cohen near Citi Field, where the baseball team plays.

The three companies were selected by the state Gambling Commission in 2025 after a years-long process to award licenses to the central New York state region following a 2013 approved referendum.

The state says the three casinos could generate $7 billion in gaming tax revenue over a decade, and CBRE expects annual gaming revenue at maturity of up to $5.6 billion under a bull case scenario.

“We are changing the landscape of New York forever with a building that will never close,” said Kevin Jones, chief strategy officer at Resorts World New York.