Monticello Raceway to close its casino operations, but keep racetrack open
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It's opening day at a Resorts World Catskills, a new $1.2 billion casino, Feb. 8, 2018.ALBANY - Monticello Raceway plans to close its gambling parlor with 1,100 video-lottery terminals in April as it seeks to consolidate its operations with the nearby $1 billion Resorts World Catskills.
Both facilities in Sullivan County are owned by Empire Resorts, the locally based gaming company, and the planned closure comes as Resorts World Catskills struggles to attract gamblers after opening nearly a year ago.
Empire Resorts said it will keep open the harness track, which first opened in 1958 as a draw for vacationers in the Catskills.
The plan is to close the racino on April 23, and all impacted workers will be offered jobs at Resorts World, the company said.
The closure would be the first since horse tracks were given the approval in 2001 to add video-lottery terminals, which are owned by the state. Monticello added its gambling hall in 2004.
“Empire Resorts continually evaluates our operations to ensure we are working efficiently, competing effectively and delivering the best experience and greatest value to our customers," Ryan Eller, CEO of Empire Resorts, said in a statement.
"To deliver on these promises, and in order to improve revenue performance at our nearby Resorts World Catskills property, we have made the decision to cease gaming operations on April 23, 2019 at Monticello Casino and Raceway (“MCR”) and focus all gaming operations at Resorts World Catskills."
What will the state say?
Resorts World said it will continue to provide the same direct revenue to the state and local governments who shared in the racino's profits, as well as to continue to fund purses at the racetrack.
The goal, the company said, is that by consolidating the two facilities there could ultimately be higher revenue for the municipalities from the Resorts World casino.
Empire Resorts first noted the closure plans in its SEC filing on Tuesday.
The state Gaming Commission, which oversees the casinos, declined comment on Empire Resorts' announcement.
"We are aware of Empire’s recent SEC filing. No additional comment," Gaming Commission spokesman Brad Maione said in an email.
Assembly Racing Committee chairman Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernon, questioned whether Empire Resorts could close the racino without state approval and a new revenue-sharing agreement approved by the Legislature.
He said he will look into the possibility of Catskill Off-Track Betting Corp. taking over ownership of the track and the racino. Western New York OTB, for instance, owns the Batavia Downs racetrack and racino.
"I’m in the process of seeing what we can do legislatively to make it better for both parties," Pretlow said Wednesday.
The closure is the latest example of the growing saturation of gaming halls in the Northeast after four upstate casinos opened over the past two years, as well as new casinos in neighboring states.
The dueling casinos in the Catskills have taken its toll on revenue at the Monticello casino since Resorts World opened Feb. 8.
Betting at the Monticello Casino and Raceway dropped 50 percent between April 2017 and April 2018, state records showed.
Resorts World's struggles
A look inside the Resorts World Catskills casino, under construction and opening soon in Monticello Jan. 25, 2018.Meanwhile, Resorts World Catskills has significantly underperformed and has failed to meet revenue projections.
The Thompson, Sullivan County, casino has needed several cash infusions from its primary owner, billionaire KT Lim, who is the chairman of the Malaysian-based Genting Group.
Genting also owns Resorts World New York City in Queens.
Kien Huat, the realty arm of the Lim family that owns the majority of Empire Resorts, gave the casino a $30 million loan in June. As part of a sports betting deal with bet365 last year, Kien Huat agreed to purchase another $126 million of Empire Resorts stock.
About 40 employees will remain at the raceway, while the roughly 160 workers at the Monticello casino can either take a severance package or go to work at Resorts World, according to the Times Herald-Record in Middletown.
Closing the racino "will allow us to not only increase operational efficiencies but enhance the casino experience at Resorts World Catskills for our guests with access to the industry’s newest slot products and more than 150 live table games," Eller said.
"We expect to continue harness racing operations at Monticello Raceway and look forward to welcoming all interested MCR employees to the Resorts World Catskills workforce.”
