More than three years and $1.2 billion in the making, the sprawling resort and casino will, when complete, have 332 suites, nearly a dozen places to eat, and - later in 2018 - another adjacent boutique hotel and “entertainment complex” with retail shops and a few more restaurants. Resorts World Catskills has received a lot of buzz both before and after cutting the ribbon on Feb. Unlike many casinos, where natural light is blocked so that gamers lose track of time, here high windows illuminate the casino floor, a refreshing touch.
A 100,000-square-foot gaming floor jangles with thousands of slot machines.
Past the busy valet stand and through the atrium entrance, however, is a volley of sound and light. It’s about a two-hour drive from Nassau County to Monticello, New York, in the heart of the former Borscht Belt - one that takes you along progressively smaller roads until you wend past pine trees and stone walls to New York’s newest upstate casino, Resorts World Catskills.įrom the outside, the 18-story resort cuts an austere profile, a mirrored tower jutting above the surrounding woods.
