MONTICELLO - Despite unveiling the pristine Resorts World Catskills casino in Thompson this week, Empire Resorts won’t turn its back on its other property, Monticello Casino & Raceway.
At the grand opening Thursday, several visitors wondered if the $920 million, 1.6-million-square-foot, five-star casino would put the racino out of business.
Quite the contrary.
“We think of it as a business that will still be active and vibrant,” said Charlie Degliomini, executive vice president of Empire Resorts.
Just 10 minutes away from Resorts World Catskills, the racino opened in 1958 for harness horse racing and added the casino component in 2004, which has 1,070 video lottery terminals and 40 electronic table games.
The racino will maintain all of its features, as well as continue to book musical acts, according to Degliomini.
“We definitely wanted to keep it open,” Degliomini said. “There’s still jobs there.”
Monticello Casino & Raceway employs about 200 people and will maintain that level, Degliomini said. Some will move back and forth between Resorts World Catskills and the racino.
The video lottery terminals provide “substantial” revenue to Monticello, said Village Manager David Sager. He estimated the village receives about $180,000 per year.
While Sager doesn’t think the racino will be a huge draw for people visiting Resorts World Catskills, he said inevitably, some will venture outside its grounds and visit it.
“I think that there are certain people who are going to be overwhelmed by the five-diamond resort casino,” he said.
So there’s a chance there could be an uptick of activity at the racino, Sager said.
He’s hopeful the continued presence of the racino and Resorts World Catskills will help bring back visitors to the area.
“We did thrive on tourism at one point in time, and I think we can again,” Sager said.
Recently, Empire Resorts has made improvements to Monticello Casino & Raceway.
A few months ago, Degliomini said its buffet was replaced with a sports bar that has proven to be successful.
A new mini grandstand was installed and horse racing operations and betting were moved to near the gaming floor to create more of a compact experience, Degliomini added.
Degliomini is optimistic the racino will be successful now that Resorts World Catskills opened its doors.
Without disclosing numbers, he described patron turnout at the raceway and casino as “competitive.”
“We win our fair share in the market there,” Degliomini said. It’s been steady and it continues to improve.”
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