By John Jordan
NEWBURGH—The opening of the Resorts World Hudson Valley video gaming machine (VGM) facility at the Newburgh Mall in Orange County on Dec. 28 is bringing hundreds of new full-time jobs and significant tax revenue for the area, but business leaders are hoping for so much more.
Executives from Genting, which owns the casino, were on hand for the celebration, along with local elected officials, including Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, and community leaders at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Genting also owns Resorts World Catskills, a casino located in Monticello and another VGM facility—Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
The new 90,000-square-foot VGM facility in the Town of Newburgh was built out of space that included the vacant Bon-Ton anchor department store. The addition of new anchor tenant Resorts World Hudson Valley is expected to bring significant traffic to the mostly vacant 388,000-square-foot Newburgh Mall that is located at the crossroads of Interstates 84 and 87 at the intersection of Route 300. Resorts World Hudson Valley will bring 250-full-time jobs with an average annual wage of $72,000 (including salary and benefits), Genting officials stated.
“What a gift to spend some time this holiday season welcoming guests and visitors to Resorts World Hudson Valley,” said Robert DeSalvio, President, Genting Americas East. “Along with our partners in Orange County, we are elated the casino is now open for business and we can’t wait for the area to begin to reap the benefits. We’ve received such a warm welcome from the Hudson Valley community and hope residents swing by to check us out. We can think of no better way to ring in 2023 than by celebrating right here with us at Resorts World Hudson Valley.”
RWHV features 60,000 square feet of gaming and hospitality space, including 1,200 state-of-the-art slot machines and electronic table games, as well as the Resorts World Bet Sports Bar. Genting officials said the casino will play a crucial role in a revitalization plan to benefit current tenants at the mall and attract new ones.
Darlene Monzo, Chief Marking Officer with Genting America’s East, in an exclusive interview with Real Estate In-Depth in June 2022, noted that the project cost, which was originally estimated at approximately $32 million, had risen to about $50 million, primarily due to COVID-related cost escalations and delays.
Monzo also stated that Resorts World Hudson Valley will complement its full-gaming casino property in Monticello. She told Real Estate In-Depth, “I am super excited about this property (Resorts World Hudson Valley in Newburgh). I think it is going to do extremely well. I think we will wind up growing the Orange County-Sullivan County business because I think we can give more to the patron, more variety. If you want to go away for the weekend, you are going to the Catskills. If you want to stay local, you are thinking Resorts World (Hudson Valley).”
Monzo later added, “This facility will complement Resorts World Catskills, because, when you go to a destination market you may only be going once a weekend per month and you may not want to take an hour and 20-minute drive there. You may want to take a 15-minute drive and to go and play for a few hours versus needing an extra day off for a long weekend.”
The opening of Resorts World Hudson Valley comes as New York State has launched competition for up to three casino licenses in the New York metro region. Genting and its New York City VGM facility are among a host of firms that are competing for the full gaming license. Other competitors include Empire City Casino in Yonkers and a host of other contenders that would build casino properties in Manhattan, Staten Island and adjacent to Citi Field in Flushing, Queens.
