New York’s first casino, Resorts World New York City, will today unveil plans for the next phase of its $5.5 billion expansion project that it says will transform it into the country’s largest integrated resort.
The casino has also opened a new first floor, which features 1,400 new slot machines. This brings the number of slots in the casino to 3,900, the casino said in a press release.
“Our slot machines have been incredibly popular with the public,” said Robert DeSalvio, the President of the Malaysia-based casino operator Genting Americas East. “[The machines have] generated more than $230 million in gross gaming revenue in just 11 weeks.”
The expansion comes as traditional casino revenues at commercial and tribal venues continue to climb. Tribal gaming operators this month revealed 2025 receipts rose 5.3% year-on-year to over $46 billion, making for a new all-time high.
Commercial land-based casinos also saw gross gaming revenues climb in May, rising by almost 5% year-on-year to almost $4.7 billion.
New York Casino: Hotel & Concert Facilities in Development
Work continues on the Resorts World New York City project, with developers expecting to complete the project by 2030. Genting plans to add a new 400-room hotel tower and a concert arena with a capacity of 7,000.
The casino is located near the soon-to-be-shuttered Aqueduct racetrack and the main offices of the New York Racing Association in Jamaica, Queens.
The state first rolled out plans for the casino in 2000. But punters were forced to wait until April this year for it to finally open table games under the Genting umbrella.
Two other Big Apple integrated casino-resorts remain in development. One of these is also in Queens: the Hard Rock-backed Metropolitan Park casino complex near Citi Field in Flushing. The other will be a Bronx-based casino developed by the casino behemoth Bally’s.
The state says that once the three casinos are open, they could generate $7 billion in tax revenue per decade. And investment firms have forecasted best-case annual gaming revenues of up to $5.6 billion.
The New York Post claimed it had seen renderings of the Resorts World NYC expansion plans ahead of a public announcement on Wednesday.
These renderings reportedly show Genting plans to complete a new sports and media complex three years ahead of schedule. They also reportedly show plans for a new parking lot with “thousands of solar panels.”
And the operator also allegedly plans to boost hotel capacity to 2,000 rooms.
The Only Show in Town: Operator Pays Tax Premium
The casino is the only one of its kind in the Big Apple to offer table games such as blackjack, roulette, and baccarat.
But Genting is paying a price to be the only show in town. The operator is paying 63% state taxes on the revenues from its slot machines. It is also paying 30% levies on its table game revenues.
CNBC reported that in its bid for a license last year, Genting agreed to pay higher tax rates until the other two NYC casinos open. After this, the outlet reported, the three casinos will all pay a lower, standardized rate.
Despite the rise of prediction markets and iGaming, many traditional casinos are continuing to post high revenues following a coronavirus pandemic-era lull.
And many operators are expanding. Multiple tribal casinos are set to open this year, with more to follow in the years ahead.
