Resorts World Catskill Casino holds their grand opening. John Meore/lohud
A guest rolls the dice on a craps table at the grand opening of Resorts World Catskill Casino in Monticello on Thursday, February 8, 2018.(Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)
THOMPSON, N.Y. - Shuffle up and deal!
The Resorts World Catskills, New York state's new $1.2 billion casino, opened its doors to the public Thursday morning, with some 75 patrons filling the new casino’s vestibule, waiting to get in.
Some drove all the way from Massachusetts to be first in line, while others have been waiting for this day for decades.
“I started working here in 1969 and all they’ve been talking about since then is bringing casino gambling, so I had to be here for it,” said Gary Schultz, 65, of New City, who worked in the Catskills as a waiter from high school through law school. “It’ll be great for the Catskills — not just for gambling, but just the beauty of the Catskills and the things to do here.”
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Schultz made the trip from Rockland County with his accountant, Gary Weinberger of West Nyack, to be at the grand opening. Weinberger, 67, said he came for the gambling but is looking forward to seeing concerts at the new venue.
His desired act?
“Well, there’s a man named Bruce Springsteen I wouldn’t mind seeing here,” he said, laughing. “But even, like, Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits, The Cars — something small, I guess, more within reason.”
The Resorts World Catskills features 130 table games and 2,150 slot machines over 100,000 square feet of gaming real estate. The property as a whole is 1.6 million square feet and includes about 100 rooms in the hotel that were available Thursday, with more coming later this month.
The resort is expected to open an indoor water park in early 2019 and its Rees Jones-designed 18-hole golf course later that spring.
Buy PhotoGary Weinberger of West Nyack, left, and Gary Schultz from New City play blackjack with dealer Mark Selementi from New Windsor at Resorts World Catskill Casino in Monticello on Thursday, February 8, 2018. (Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)
Resorts World Catskills will have its share of competition, with Empire City Casino, Monticello Casino, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Atlantic City all within a reasonable drive for those in the Hudson Valley and New York City, but employees aren’t worried.
“We’re a place where you can escape to it all, not escape from it all,” said Tara Gregson, vice president of consumer marketing at Resorts World Catskills. “Everything that you have from the slot product to the table games product to the room product is just something that is unmatched in the area.”
New York state Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she believes the resort’s opening is the start of something great in the area.
“This is the rebirth of the Catskills — you heard it here first,” she said, to applause. “The days of New York state losing casino money to other states is over, I’ve officially declared it over.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo didn't attend the grand opening, but said in a prerecorded video that the resort is expected to add 1,500 full-time jobs by next month and an additional 600 jobs when the new properties are built in 2019.
The casino currently employees more than 1,400 people, some of whom are new to the card dealing profession.
While enthusiasm was high Thursday, there has been sobering news elsewhere in the state's gaming industry. Three new upstate casinos fell short of early projections during their first year of operation.
But that was far from the mind of Mark Selementi, 29, of New Windsor in Orange County on Thursday. He said the new resort was an exciting place to work, although being a dealer was a peculiar feeling.
Buy PhotoThe ceremonial lion dance at the opening ceremony of Resorts World Catskill Casino in Monticello on Thursday, February 8, 2018. (Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)
“People are having a good time, why wouldn’t you want go to work and have everyone around you — hopefully — smiling?” said Selementi, who went through two months of training before earning his dealer’s license. “It’s a little different perspective standing on this side of the table than sitting on other one, but it’s fun.”
LaMont Jackson, a Brooklyn native and Orange County resident, turned to dealing cards after working as a truck driver for two decades. Jackson was dropping a friend off at Stewart International Airport when he saw there was free training to become a table games dealer.
“I wanted to try something new,” he said.
There were at least a couple of big winners on Day 1. The casino announced that one player won $10,000, and 58-year-old David Salinger of nearby Wurtsboro hit the $3,000 jackpot on the Top Dollar Premium slot machine within the first hour and a half of the doors opening.
“It’s going in the bank,” Salinger said. “I’m going to behave myself.”
Twitter: @Zacchio_LoHud; Instagram: @Zacchio_LoHud
Albany Bureau Chief Joseph Spector contributed to this story.
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