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.