Fun at the Catskills

It’s hard to remember a time when there wasn’t a conversation about bringing legal casino gaming to the fabled Catskills Mountains region of New York State.

There was certainly a lot of heightened interest in the concept once Atlantic City’s first state-sanctioned gambling den, Resorts International (now Resorts Atlantic City), opened in May, 1978. Interested parties saw the amounts of money New York City-area residents were leaving along the Boardwalk and decided the Catskills—long a celebrated tourist destination—was a perfect setting for such development.

For reasons that needn’t be recounted here, that dream didn’t become a reality until Feb. 8, 2018, when the doors to Resorts World Catskills in Monticello opened. But the gambling den’s original owners, Empire Resorts, never achieved any traction with it, and in November, 2019, it was purchased by Malaysia-based gaming giant, Genting Group. Genting, in turn, brought in highly respected 40-year industry vet (and former Atlantic City executive) Bob DeSalvio to run it and its sister property, Resorts World New York, the mammoth slots-and-video- gaming parlor located in the borough of Queens.

While we never visited RWC when Empire Resorts owned it, a recent two-night bivouac at the hotel-casino located in the heart of the Catskills found it to be one of the most all-around impressive gambling halls we’ve ever experienced.

A myriad of amenities and activities are offered both inside and outside the property that is surrounded by some of the most scenic vistas on the East Coast. Obviously, the easily navigable 100,000-square-foot casino is the engine that propels RWC, but that isn’t the property’s sole—or even primary--focus.

According to Darlene Monzo, chief marketing officer for both of Genting’s Empire State operations, the property’s marketing strategy is predicated on its wide variety of indulgences. “The whole premise is making it an entertainment complex. It’s not gambling-first. It’s truly a destination property,” says Monzo, who has worked in Atlantic City and helped open Parx in Bensalem, Pa.

Pampering guests is at the top of RWC’s to-do list, starting with the standard hotel room which, at some 625 square feet, almost doubles the industry average. Monzo describes staying in the striking 20-story, 334-unit tower a “boutique experience” based on the level of luxury and attention to detail guests encounter.

While the rooms easily measure up to those in any top-tier hotel, casino or not, the prices are surprisingly reasonable. For instance, a two-night midweek stay the first week of August will run about $145 (not including taxes and fees) per night for a standard room, and $329 per night that weekend (both based on availability). And for $119 (mid-week) and $249 (weekend) per night, there’s The Alder, a 101-room hotel that sits on the grounds about three football fields away from the main building. The rooms are considerably smaller than those in the tower.

As for courting Lady Luck, the offerings extend beyond the casino floor’s 1,500 slot machines and 125-plus tables. Action can also be found in the well-appointed, 20-table poker parlor and the only casino sports book in the state of New York.