Genting to undertake RM1.6 billion project in New York
When ready in 2019, gaming activities at the casino resort are expected to contribute towards New York’s education and horse-breeding funds.
NEW YORK: The Resorts World Casino at New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack has come up with an ambitious expansion plan.
According to a report in Gamingtoday, Genting wants to add a 400-room hotel, a 140,000-square-foot convention complex, new food and retail outlets, a 20,000 square-foot spa, and about 1,000 video-lottery machines.
The casino currently has 5,500 electronic gambling machines of varying types.
The expansion is estimated to cost about USD400 million.
The plan was outlined on June 27 to the New York state Franchise Oversight Board by Resorts World Casino President Ryan Eller. Eller told the board, the complex would open in April 2019, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The WSJ quoted a spokesman for Resorts World as saying the expansion would be built on the west side of the existing casino, a space now covered by a parking lot.
Part of the revenue from the new video-lottery terminals will go to Nassau County, said a spokesman for Norma Gonsalves, presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature.
The Long Island county expects to receive at least USD9 million in returns from the new machines in the first year of operation, said the spokesman. In each of the following years, he said, Nassau County could get up to USD25 million, said the WSJ report.
Other portions of the revenue from the new video-lottery gambling machines would go to the state education fund and to support horse racing and breeding.
Robert Williams, executive director for the New York Gaming Commission and chair of the Franchise Oversight Board, was quoted as saying the development was expected to increase gambling-machine revenue “and therefore maintain or exceed current contribution levels to further support New York’s important horse-racing industry”.
In the less than five years since the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct opened, it has generated USD1.5 billion toward the state’s education fund, said Michael Levoff, Genting’s senior vice president for public affairs.
“This new expansion, and its corresponding increase in visitation to our facility, will result in a boost in revenue for both New York’s education fund and the state’s horse-racing industry,” Levoff was quoted as saying.
In New York, video-lottery machine revenue at racetracks is customarily funnelled to the state’s education fund, the horse-racing industry and the casino company.
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Resorts World Casino New York City is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genting Malaysia Berhad, a member of the Genting Group, which has a 20-year track record of investing in the United States.