ALBANY - New York’s four upstate casinos were hoping for a big summer, but ended up with modest improvement in their revenue, state records show.
Now they are looking to soon offer sports betting as a way to drive more customers to their casinos that started opening nearly two years ago yet have struggled to meet projections.
In one case, Resorts World Catskills is already raising capital from the British sports book giant bet365 in anticipation of soon being able to allow sports wagering.
Bet365 announced Nov. 14 it would will acquire up to $50 million of shares from Resorts World's parent company, Empire Resorts Inc., in exchange for 50 percent of the profits from sports betting during the 20-year contract.
"We think both on site as well as mobile sports betting will be profitable for Resorts World Catskills and will drive business to our casino," said Manny Pearlman, executive chairman of Empire Resorts, Inc.
Hold up continues
Sports betting is in flux because the state Gaming Commission has yet to issue rules and regulations on it.
While New Jersey brought it $24 million in sports-betting profits in September, New York has remained on the sidelines during the heavily bet NFL football season.
Brad Maione, a spokesman for the Gaming Commission, offered no timeline on when the agency would act on the regulations.
The state Legislature this year didn't approve a new law to allow sports betting.
There were lobbying efforts at the state Capitol this year to allow it at all New York racetracks, casinos and off-track betting parlors after U.S. Supreme Court ruled in May that states could legalize sports betting.
Nonetheless, existing law still lets the four upstate casinos— Resorts World; Rivers in Schenectady; del Lago in the Finger Lakes and Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier —offer on-site sports betting as soon as the state puts the regulations on the books.
Casinos in Indian reservations also appear able to provide sports betting when the state Gaming Commission acts.
However, it appears unlikely the four casinos could allow for mobile betting, the most profitable option, without a new state law.
"I think in order for us to do mobile, it would require the Legislature to pass legislation to allow mobile betting," said Jeff Gural, the owner of Tioga Downs.
Help from sports betting
The four casinos are eagerly waiting, and they could use the boost.
Records show that the casinos continue to underperform their projections when they won gaming licenses from the state starting in 2014.
Even though Resorts World Catskills is a $1 billion facility with a gleaming 18-story hotel, its revenue since April has been on par with Schenectady's Rivers casino, which cost about $300 million to build and has nearly half as many slot machines.
Resorts World's net win per machine — an industry standard based on how much is left in the machine after payouts to the winners — averaged a mere $110 since April with a slight uptick in August and September.
That's compared to a $254 net win per machine at Rivers; $201 at Tioga Downs and $164 at del Lago.
Resorts World revenue has been bolstered by strong revenue from its 135 table games as it caters to high-end gamblers and the Asian market — aiming to lure wealthy New York City residents to the Catskills.
"We actually have extremely strong table games," Pearlman said.
"Our win per day on slots is not where it needs to be, and obviously some of this money we are getting we will be spending on marketing and trying to improve that. And we think over time that it’s part of the business that takes time to build up."
The Thompson, Sullivan County, casino has needed several infusions of cash from its primary owner, billionaire KT Lim, who is the chairman of the Malaysian-based Genting Group, which owns Resorts World New York City, the massive racetrack facility in Queens with video-lottery terminals.
Kien Huat, the realty arm of the Lim family, gave the casino a $30 million loan in June. As part of the sports betting deal with bet365, Kien Huat agreed to purchase another $126 million of Empire Resorts stock.
What's next
Del Lago said it is seen steady progress in its business. The casino off exit 41 on the state Thruway had a slightly better summer than it did in 2017.
The owners of the Tyre, Seneca County, casino earlier this year sought a lower tax rate from the state to help its bottomline, but the request was rejected by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
In August, del Lago announced it would partner with DraftKings, the online fantasy sports giant, to offer sports betting. Tioga Downs has a deal with Paddy Power Betfair, the European bookmaker and new owner of FanDuel.
“As del Lago Resort & Casino approaches the end of its second year, we continue to grow our customer base and our business," said del Lago spokesman Steven Greenberg.
"We remain 100 percent focused on our committed to providing our customers with the best gaming and resort options and serving as a gateway for tourists coming to the Finger Lakes region.”
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