Introduction to New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
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New York slot machine casino gambling consists of eleven tribal casinos, eight pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines, four casino resorts, and two nearby Canadian casinos.
A theoretical payout limit exists for the seven Class III tribal casinos. Return statistics are publicly available for the eight racinos and four casino resorts.
This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.
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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in New York*
The minimum legal gambling age in New York depends upon the gambling activity:
- Land-Based Casinos: 21/19/18
- Poker Rooms: 21
- Bingo: 18
- Lottery: 18
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18
The legal gambling age is 21 for casinos owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians, but 18 for other casinos in New York. At Canadian casinos in the province of Ontario, the minimum legal gambling age is 19. For the province of Quebec, it’s 18.
Until 1993, tribal casinos in the state of New York had only Class II bingo halls. That year, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe negotiated a state-tribal compact for Class III Vegas-style slot machines.
As a result, all Class III tribal casinos have video lottery terminals (VLTs) controlled by the New York State Lottery. While these electronic games appear to be typical video slot machines, the results of a bet are instead determined off-site by a central lottery system.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.
Slot Machine Private Ownership in New York
It is legal to own a slot machine privately in the state of New York if it is 30 years old or older.
Gaming Control Board in New York
Created in 2012, the New York State Gaming Commission has merged from the New York State Division of Lottery and the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
Currently, this Commission regulates all aspects of gaming activity in the state of New York including charitable gaming.
Casinos in New York
There are eleven tribal casinos, eight pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines, and four casino resorts in the state of New York.
The largest casino in New York is Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway with 5,300 gaming machines.
The second-largest casino is Resorts World Casino New York City with 4,995 gaming machines.
The State of New York has an extraordinary gaming industry because of the many types of casinos available to its residents. New York has tribal casinos with and without tribal compacts, casino resorts, racinos, cruise ships, and even readily accessible international casinos just across the border to Canada.
Commercial Casinos in New York
The eight racetracks with slot machines (racinos) in New York are:
- Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel located in Batavia found 44 miles east of Buffalo.
- Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway found 22 miles North-northeast of New York City.
- Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack located in Farmington found 64 miles west of Syracuse.
- Hamburg Gaming at The Fairgrounds found 13 miles south of Buffalo.
- Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino located in Islandia found 50 miles east of New York City.
- Nassau Downs at Resorts World Casino New York City located in Jamaica, Queens found 17 miles east of New York City.
- Saratoga Casino Hotel located in Saratoga Springs found 139 miles east of Syracuse.
- Vernon Downs Casino Hotel located in Vernon found 39 miles east of Syracuse.
The four casinos resorts in New York are:
- del Lago Resort Casino located in Waterloo found 47 miles west of Syracuse.
- Resorts World Catskills located in Kiamesha Lake found 96 miles northwest of New York City.
- Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady found 128 miles east of Syracuse.
- Tioga Downs Casino Resort located in Nichols found 102 miles south of Syracuse.
Tribal Casinos in New York
The seven tribal casinos with Class III Vegas-style slot machines in New York are:
- Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort located in Hogansburg found 176 miles northeast of Syracuse on the Canadian border.
- Point Place Casino located in Bridgeport found 15 miles northeast of Syracuse.
- Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel located in Salamanca found 63 miles south of Buffalo.
- Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino located in Buffalo.
- Seneca Niagara Casino located in Niagara Falls found 19 miles northwest of Buffalo on the Canadian border to Quebec.
- Turning Stone Casino Resort located in Verona found 35 miles east of Syracuse.
- Yellow Brick Road Casino located in Chittenango found 16 miles west of Syracuse.
The four tribal casinos with Class II bingo-style gaming machines in New York are:
- Lakeside Entertainment located in Union Springs found 41 miles southwest of Syracuse.
- Seneca Gaming – Irving located in Irving found 29 miles southwest of Buffalo.
- Seneca Gaming – Oil Spring located in Cuba found 69 miles southeast of Buffalo.
- Seneca Gaming – Salamanca located in Salamanca found 63 miles south of Buffalo.
Other Gambling Establishments
As an alternative to enjoying New York slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering New York is:
- North: The Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec
- East: Connecticut Slots, Massachusetts Slots, and Vermont Slots
- South and West: Pennsylvania Slots and New Jersey Slots
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to New York.
Canadian casinos are across the international border from the State of New York in the Niagara Falls region near Buffalo as well as in Montreal near upstate New York.
Otherwise, cruise ships with onboard casinos depart from the New York Manhattan Cruise Terminal for international destinations.
Our New York Slots Facebook Group
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in New York? If so, join our new New York slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in New York. Join us!
Payout Returns in New York
Each casino type in New York has its own gaming regulations, so theoretical payout limits and return statistics have several varieties. I’ll review them.
- Class II competition-style gaming machines at tribal casinos are subject to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a federal law, which does not set payout limits nor require public reporting of return statistics.
- Class III Vegas-style slot machines at tribal casinos are subject to tribal-state gaming compacts stating VLTs are controlled off-site by the New York State Lottery. These VLTs have a minimum theoretical payout limit of 92%. No return statistics are publicly available.
- Commercial casino resorts do not have theoretical payout limits. Return statistics are publicly available as weekly and monthly reports. See the Commercial Gaming Reports tab at the NY State Gaming Commission.
- Commercial racetracks with their video slot machines do not have theoretical payout limits. Return statistics are publicly available as weekly and monthly reports. See the Video Gaming Reports tab at the NY State Gaming Commission.
Regarding monthly return statistics for the commercial sites, player win percentage is available only after performing a simple calculation. Specifically, divide Credits Won by Credits Played and then multiply the result by 100% to get Player Win%.
The monthly Player Win% for February 2020 at each casino resort was:
- del Lago: 90.4%
- Resorts World Catskills: 90.7%
- Rivers: 90.8%
- Tioga Downs: 91.6%
In February 2020, the highest return for a casino resort was at Tioga Downs with 91.6% while the lowest return was at del Lago with 90.4%.
The monthly Player Win% for February 2020 at each commercial racetrack with video slot machines was:
- Batavia Downs: 91.6%
- Empire City: 93.4%
- Finger Lakes: 92.1%
- Hamburg Gaming: 91.5%
- Jake’s 58: 93.8%
- Nassau Downs: 97.4%
- Saratoga: 92.2%
- Vernon Downs: 91.8%
In February 2020, the highest return for a pari-mutuel racino was at Nassau Downs at Resorts World New York City with 97.4% while the lowest return was at Hamburg Gaming with 91.5%. For the same month, the overall state total was 94.1%.
Summary of New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
New York slot machine casino gambling consists of eleven tribal casinos, eight racinos, four casino resorts, multiple cruise ships sailing out of New York City to international destinations, and two nearby casinos across the border to Canada.
VLTs at Class III tribal casinos have a minimum theoretical payout limit of 92%. None of the tribal casinos offer return statistics, but casino resorts and racinos have weekly and monthly reports available online.
Annual Progress in New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling
Over the last year, there has been little change in the slots gaming industry in the state of New York.
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Slot Machines At Resorts World New York Times Square
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By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
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Resorts World Casino New York overview
Resorts World Casino New York bills itself as New York City’s only casino. However, it is technically a Racino.
In fact, the gaming facility opened in October 2011 at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, NY after years of political jockeying over who would be allowed to build and run Video Lottery Terminal gaming at the track. Regardless, Resorts World Casino New York remains the only VLT gaming facility in New York City’s five boroughs.
The Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred racing facility that opened in 1894.
When New York State authorized the installation of VLTs at racetracks in 2001, developers and casino operators lined up to build and operate a gaming facility at Aqueduct. However, it wasn’t until 2007 that the State issued a request for proposals to operate VLTs at the site. The Shinnecock Indian Nation proposed to build a $2 billion casino at the site. However, the tribe’s own standing and property ownership issues left that project unable to move forward.
In October 2008, developer and Racino owner Delaware North was selected to build a 330,000-square-foot Racino with 4,500 slot machines. However, the group failed to come up with a $370 million upfront payment to the state and the project died.
Aqueduct Entertainment Group was the next organization selected to build. However, political issues surrounded the project and the State re-issued the RFP in 2010.
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Genting Group steps in
In August 2010, Genting Group‘s bid, which included a $380 million upfront licensing fee, was accepted. Genting Group is a Malaysian company that operates destination resorts in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the Bahamas.
In fact, after putting up an additional $450 million to renovate Aqueduct Racetrack’s grandstand, Genting opened up the first floor of Resorts World Casino New York in October 2011. Six months later, the second floor was opened doubling the gaming floor space at the property.
Resorts World Casino New York is on Rockaway Blvd. in the South Ozone Park area of Queens, NY. It is accessible by subway.
Two gaming floor levels
Currently, Resorts World Casino New York features 415,000 square foot of gaming space over two floors.
In fact, The Times Square Casino Level on the first floor features VLTs and electronic table games including:
- Single & Double Zero Roulette
- Blackjack
- Baccarat
- Three Card Poker
- Craps
- Over 2,800 VLT slots
Plus, The Fifth Avenue Casino Level on the second floor features features VLTs and electronic table games including:
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Craps
- Sic Bo
- Three Card Poker
- Single & Double Zero Roulette
- Video Poker
- High Limit Rooms
- Over 2,500 VLT slots
Additionally, Resorts World Casino New York also hosts three high-limit gaming rooms on the second floor. Plus, pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races is available through Aqueduct Racetrack.
Online casino leaders
The Genting Group are veterans in the online casino gaming industry. In fact, through its UK division, the group already offers one of the most robust online casino websites in the world. Actually, the Genting online casino offers both a huge variety of traditional online casino games and live dealer games online.
Plans to legalize and regulate online casino games were not on New York State lawmaker’s agendas as of the first quarter of 2018. However, should that ever change, Resorts World Casino New York is in a unique position to take a leading role in any legal and regulated New York online casino market. This considering owner Genting Group’s previous experience in the iGaming sphere.
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Online poker veterans
Genting Group also offers an online poker site in the UK called Genting Poker.
State lawmakers introduced legislation to legalize and regulate online poker in the state of New York in early 2017. It passed in the Senate but died in the Assembly. However, both versions of the bill are live at the start of the 2018 session. Politicians claim New York’s licensed casino and Racino properties are in full support.
This is highly likely to include Resorts World Casino New York, considering owner Genting Group’s experience in the online poker industry.
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In fact, Genting put up over $800 million before the doors of the Resorts World Casino New York even opened. The operation has proved profitable. However, here’s little doubt Genting would be interested in the additional revenue online poker may be able to provide at low overhead.
More casino-style gaming and amenities
Resorts World Casino New York has proposed a $400 million expansion to the facility that would include turning the 415,000 square foot Racino into 750,000 square foot resort.
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Proposed amenities include:
- 1,000 video-lottery machines
- A 400-room hotel
- 20,000 square foot spa and resort
- 140,000 square feet minimum convention center
Construction is expected to be completed in 2019.
Food, beverage and entertainment options already on site include:
- Food Court
- RW Prime steakhouse.
- Good Friends Noodle House
- Bar 360
- 70,000 square-foot third-floor event space
Free Rewards
New York Resort World Casino
Resorts World Casino New York offers free membership into its Genting Rewards players club. Members earn points when playing slot machines or electronic table games.
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Points can be used towards:
- Dining
- Shopping
- Parking
- Event tickets
- The Resorts World Gift Shop