The first casino in New York City opened on Friday at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens to packed crowds of eager gamblers.
Some people waited for hours to get inside the new Resorts World Casino, which hit its full capacity almost immediately after opening.
Queues reportedly stretched around the casino as local police struggled to contain hundreds of punters hoping for some opening-day luck.
The casino’s stakeholders said they hope its close proximity to the airport and the subway will make it a drawcard for both New Yorkers and tourists alike.
The Resorts World Casino is the first casino to be built in New York City since the state legislature paved the way for its construction during the post-September 11, 2001 economic downturn.
But due to a technicality in the 2001 law, the casino features only video games, no live dealers.
Still, director of the New York Lottery, Gordon Medenica, backed the casino’s contribution to state funds.
“This facility will probably increase our video lottery income by 50 per cent,” he said.
He added video lottery is the organisation’s fastest-growing source of income.
The casino is being advertised as “minutes, not hours away” – a marketing tactic targeted at the more well-known but farther away gambling meccas of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Indian reservations such as Foxwoods in Connecticut.
“It’s not competition with Las Vegas,” the president of Resorts World Casino, Mike Speller, said.
“We are 10 minutes from JFK – 55 million customers a year come in there. We are 25 minutes from Manhattan – another 50 million tourists come in there. So we think it’s going to be a very, very busy place.”
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