Joe Caratozzolo is one of the new hires. As a Seneca County native, he never imagined a place like this so close to home.

“Never in a million years, I live 4 minutes from here, it's so crazy that I'll be able to go to work at a place like this so close to my house,” Caratozzolo said.

He’s worked in casinos across the country as a chef. He says he’s happy to be able to stay home and do what he loves.

“It’s still surreal it doesn't seem like it's happening,” Caratozzolo said. “It's hard to put into words how excited I am and what this is actually going to do for the community.”

Jeff Babinski, del Lago General Manager, says the benefits of this $440 million dollar facility are endless.

"We're bringing jobs to the community, secondly 3.2 million visitors, thirdly, we're going to drive tax revenue to the state and to the county,” Babinski said. 

He says they've hired most of their employees, but soon they'll create even more jobs.

“Once we open the casino it will be close to 1,500, and after the casino opens and we open up the hotel there will be another 200-300,” Babinski said.

With those numbers, Babinski says that makes them the largest employer in the area, and the Finger Lakes region will see an impact.

“They're coming to the casino but ultimately we want them to go out and explore and there's a lot of great things the finger lakes has to offer,” Babinski said.

Del Lago didn't come without opposition. They've been in court several times about tax breaks and taking away business from other similar operations in the region. Those lawsuits have all been rejected.

Despite the opposition, the general manager says they will continue to hire employees and bring revenue to the area.

The doors will open February 1st, and the hotel should be open before the end of the summer.