del Lago Resort Casino

With its expanse of breathtaking scenery and myriad activities for everyone from outdoors types to history buffs, New York State’s Finger Lakes region hardly needs another attraction to entice visitors. But it has one anyway.

Earlier this year, the $440 million del Lago Resort Casino opened in Tyre, a flyspeck of a place (pop. 981 in 2010), just a roll of the dice away from the northern end of Cayuga Lake. You can picture Tyre as the third point on an inverted triangle, almost equidistant from Syracuse to the northeast and Rochester to the northwest. It is 284 miles northwest of Cherry Hill.

Encompassing 414,000 square feet on a site alongside the New York State Thruway, del Lago’s casino complex (including gaming areas, retail and dining outlets) opened on Feb. 1. Five months later, the hotel tower debuted.

Unlike some casino-hotel complexes, del Lago does not overwhelm with a grand scale. At 205 rooms and suites, the hotel is a fraction of the size of those at such behemoths as Atlantic City’s Borgata and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. And dining options are limited to six establishments. But don’t mistake small-scale with minor-league. When it comes to service, accommodations and the other elements that can make or break a casino resort, del Lago more than holds its own against its East Coast competition.

The hotel rooms are sleek, modern and richly appointed, with standard units sharing much in common with larger, more expensive mini-suites and suites (square footage ranges from 440 to 860 feet). Amenities found in both types of lodging include plush, high-off-the-floor “European” beds, bedside tablets (for use in ordering room service, making a housekeeping request, etc.) and spacious shower stalls boasting “waterfall”-style heads.

The first floor of the hotel tower contains a 14,000-square-foot spa that offers facilities and a menu of treatments that should satisfy anyone looking to spend some relaxing time away from the real world (Mrs. Rambling & Gambling and I indulged in a couple’s massage that definitely eased the aches and pains of the five-hour car ride the day before).

There may not be the dizzying array of dining options that mega-casinos claim, but the emphasis is clearly on quality, not quantity. The Vine is a contemporary gastropub with a cool, easygoing vibe that specializes in reasonably priced small plate-style offerings (check out both the chicken wings and the Voodoo Shrimp!). And Portico, an upscale Italian-style steakhouse by celeb-u-chef Fabio Viviani that emphasizes local sourcing, takes a backseat to no eatery of similar caliber (the filet mignon is truly a work of culinary art). And casino traditionalists will find the Farmers Market Buffet a familiar port of call.

The full-service casino -- which observes a full no-smoking policy (there is a smokers’ area just off the gaming area) -- features just under 2,000 slot machines, including many of the currently hot games. There are also 85 tables offering roulette, craps, blackjack and other games of chance, as well as a nicely appointed, 14-table poker parlor.

But if there is one aspect of del Lago that really sets it apart from the pack, it’s The Vine, a 2,500-seat, state-of-the-art theater with a spacious proscenium stage and excellent sound and sightlines.

While such top-shelf attractions as Pat Benatar & Neil Girardo, Paul Anka and The Charlie Daniels Band have performed there, the venue -- whose design suggests a classic opera house --doesn’t just host headliners. There is an-every-Thursday-night comedy show in the room, and programs including male-dancer revues are regularly scheduled.

If you absolutely must leave the property, the surrounding countryside offers some worthwhile destinations. Nearby Seneca Falls is a straight-out-of-Norman-Rockwell burg with a lively business district filled with shops, bars and restaurants. Lower Lake Road, which comprises the western perimeter of Cayuga Lake, offers stunning vistas.

And Seneca Falls is not without significant history: A red-brick building in the center of town was the site of the 1848 Seneca Falls Conference, the gathering that marked the birth of the women’s rights movement.

For more information, go to dellagoresort.com.

Eat Beat

It’s rare for any restaurant to operate at a high level of success under the same name and in the same location for almost 40 years. In the Atlantic City casino realm, where new-and-different is a cornerstone of the industry, it is unheard of -- with but one exception.

Ever since its doors opened on May 26, 1978, Capriccio, the upscale Italian dining room on the second level of Resorts Casino Hotel, has been an integral part of the town’s dining scene, surviving multiple casino ownerships, a battered economy and competition from a slew of high-profile celebrity chefs and restaurateurs.

Certainly, it’s location has played a role in its success, as it overlooks the Boardwalk, beach and ocean, as well as Steel Pier (access to a balcony allows customers to people-watch and take in the salt air, weather permitting). But, as with any restaurant, it’s what comes out of the kitchen that really matters.

If cutting-edge cuisine is your thing, then this place probably isn’t for you: The menu is rooted in traditional Italian cooking: pastas, veal, beef, seafood, etc. in popular sauces. But the ingredients are fresh and the portions generous.

Capriccio is also a worthwhile destination for Sunday brunchers. The weekly buffet offers a cornucopia of delights, including made-to-order omelets, decadent French toast, breakfast-fish items (including smoked salmon), lamb chops, prime rib and hot and cold seafood (shrimp, oysters, crab claws and even lobster, which is found in the hot seafood medley).

Another ingredient in the eatery’s long-term success is the staff. From chef Lisa Fortunato, who oversees the kitchen, to house manager Jorge Romero and maître d’ Elvie Schofield, who are most welcoming to longtime regulars and first-timers alike, to veteran server Oscar Guzman (who performed above-and-beyond during a recent visit) to bartender Ulysses Green, who remembered my favorite adult beverage of choice even though it had been a couple of years since my previous visit), the crew at Capriccio defines world-class service.

Which is why Capriccio should still be standing when Resorts hits future milestones. As Edward Batten, the casino’s vice-president of food and beverage put it, if Capriccio were to close, “my customers would kill me!”