The long-awaited racino at Aqueduct Raceway, the first legal gaming hall in New York City, welcomed approximately 65,000 patrons during its grand opening weekend in late October.

According to the Wall Street Journal, patrons lined up for a mile around the new Resorts World Casino to try their luck at 2,280 video slot machines and 200 electronic table games.

By year’s end, the facility, developed by Malaysia-based Genting at the historic Queens track, will add 2,500 more slots and two restaurants. It is also slated to have a pedestrian skybridge leading from the racino to the storied “A” train.

The 190,000-square-foot racino—described by Resorts World President Michael Speller as “a showcase property”—is expected to generate $800 million in revenues in its inaugural year, with about $470 million going to the state. Of that, $350 million is earmarked for education; the balance will go to augment purses at the state’s thoroughbred tracks.

The gaming hall has been a decade in the making. In 2001, New York first passed legislation allowing racetracks to add slot machines and video lottery terminals. Numerous bidders for the Aqueduct franchise came and went. Delaware North, the Buffalo-based hospitality company, won the development rights in 2008, but could not come up with a $370 million up-front payment to seal the deal.

In 2009, then-Governor David A. Paterson supported a bid by Aqueduct Entertainment Group to run the casino. That deal was tainted by backroom politicking, conflicts of interest, and the inability of state regulators to sign off on some of the investors.

Genting Berhad finally took the reins in 2010, offering $380 million for the right to develop the racino. Genting now hopes New York Governor Andrew Cuomo moves on a proposal to expand gaming in the state, which could enable Aqueduct and other racinos to become all-out casinos, with live table games.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.