Resorts World New York City has opened officially as the city’s first full-scale commercial casino, and the early response signaled crowds hungry for live table games in a Las Vegas-style setting.
The debut positions the complex as a test case for whether the nation’s largest city can support casino‑anchored mixed‑use development, a model that could influence how urban land and entertainment real estate are used in other markets.
The Queens property first opened its doors 15 years ago as a “racino” featuring slot machines and electronic table games, operating alongside the adjacent Aqueduct Racetrack. It’s now relaunched with about 242 live table games and more than 2,500 slots. The offerings represent the first phase of a $5.5 billion expansion of the 72‑acre site, located roughly a 10‑ to 15‑minute drive from John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Resorts World’s plans were put into motion just months after the company, owned by Malaysia‑based Genting Group, won one of three coveted downstate casino licenses from the New York State Gaming Commission. The bidding included a competitive process that drew high-profile developers and gaming operators.
The other two winning projects were the $8 billion Metropolitan Park by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International to transform some 50 acres of parking lots around the Citi Field baseball stadium in Queens, and Bally's $4 billion Bronx project to build a hotel and casino resort at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point. Both developments, however, are not expected to open until around 2030.
That timing gives Resorts World New York City a rare “first‑mover advantage,” Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, said in an interview. He expects the casino to draw not only local gamblers but also international visitors given the proximity to JFK airport.
The property has already hosted an average of 5 million visitors each year, according to Resorts World.
At a ribbon-cutting event Tuesday, Genting Chairman KT Lim rolled ceremonial dice before Resorts World New York City officially opened to the public. Tuxedo-donning Queens native and hip-hop legend Nas, a project partner, also played a hand before giving a brief performance. The event drew a who’s who of elected officials while showgirls — another sight more associated with Las Vegas than Queens — posed for photos with visitors.
Convenient location for New Yorkers
Christopher Del Toro said he left home in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood at about 7 a.m. for his first visit to the property in years. A regular at poker tournaments in Atlantic City, Del Toro told CoStar News that the shorter travel time could reshape his gaming habits once the casino opens its poker room and decides whether to host tournaments.
Evita Karvayova, who drove in from Long Island, echoed that sentiment, saying the Queens location was far more convenient than her usual trips to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
By noon, hundreds of players surrounded the game tables and slot machines across the casino.
Future expansion plans include a new 7,000-seat multipurpose entertainment venue, a 2,000-room hotel, building on the 400‑room Hyatt Regency that opened on the site in 2021, and more than 12 acres of public green space. At full build‑out, the project calls for a 500,000‑square‑foot gaming floor with 6,000 slot machines and 800 live table games, billed as the largest of such offerings in the country.
The casino has already more than doubled its workforce to about 2,200 employees, including roughly 950 table‑game dealers. Beyond the site, Genting has proposed a $2 billion community benefits package, including a commitment to build up to 50,000 units of workforce housing citywide and a $100 million infrastructure improvement program.
“We have hit the jackpot,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said at the opening event. “I’ve always dreamed of Queens as an entertainment destination. Manhattan is the new outer borough.”