New York Casino Revenue Rises 220% to $184.3m as Resorts World NYC Joins the Count and Upstate Stays Flat

New York's commercial casinos took $184.3 million in September, more than three times a year earlier, but almost all of the rise is Resorts World New York City moving from the video lottery reports into the casino ones. On a like-for-like basis the Queens property grew about 63%, and the four upstate casinos were flat.

• New York's five commercial casinos reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $184.3 million in September 2026, up 219.8% from $57.6 million, according to the New York State Gaming Commission
• The comparison is not like for like: Resorts World New York City stopped reporting as a video lottery terminal (VLT) facility on 27 April and became a commercial casino on 28 April, so September 2025 counts four casinos and September 2026 counts five
• Resorts World NYC took $126.7 million, 69% of the total, against $77.8 million from the same building's two sets of video lottery machines a year earlier, a rise of about 63%
• The four upstate casinos together took $57.6 million, down 0.1%, before either of the other downstate licensees, Bally's Bronx and Metropolitan Park, has opened
• Resorts World NYC owed $60.2 million in gaming tax at its 56% slot and 30% table rates, of which $12.9 million went to racing beneficiaries on its behalf

Resorts World NYC Turns a 220% Headline Into a Reporting Change

The New York State Gaming Commission's statewide commercial casino report shows September GGR of $184.3 million, against $57.6 million in September 2025. Slots and electronic table games produced $129.3 million, up 217.8%, and table games $53.6 million, up 252.7%, according to the report, which CDC Gaming covered on 21 October.

The base explains the number. The Commission awarded Genting New York LLC, trading as Resorts World New York City, one of three downstate licences effective 15 December 2025, alongside Bally's Bronx and Hard Rock Metropolitan Park, for a $500 million fee, according to the licence document. The Commission's video lottery report for the Aqueduct site records that it ceased operating as a VLT facility on 27 April 2026 and opened as a commercial casino on 28 April; its weekly reports show live table games from that first week.

In September 2025 the property reported net win of $55.0 million from an average of 4,534 machines, plus $22.9 million from 1,000 machines it ran for Nassau OTB, $77.8 million in total. Net win and slot GGR are both measured after free play, so the two are broadly comparable. On that basis Resorts World NYC grew about 63%, and the statewide total, counting the Queens machines in both years, about 36%.

Slots, Tables and a July Expansion

Resorts World NYC's $126.7 million comprised $85.2 million from slots and electronic table games and $41.5 million from an average of 242 tables, which held 19.9% of a $208.0 million drop. Its average daily machine count rose from about 2,500 in early July to about 3,990 in September, the weekly reports show, consistent with trade reports of more than 1,400 slots added in July. September was 6.9% below August's $136.1 million.

Upstate, Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady took $20.1 million, up 5.5%, and del Lago Resort and Casino $15.0 million, up 10.1%. Resorts World Catskills fell 13.4% to $13.4 million and Tioga Downs 4.3% to $9.0 million.

The Tax Bill and Who Gets It

Resorts World NYC is taxed at the rates it proposed to the Gaming Facility Location Board: 56% on slots and 30% on tables. Bally's Bronx proposed 30% and 10%, and Metropolitan Park 25% and 10%, according to the Commission. September's tax at the Queens casino was $60.2 million, leaving the operator $66.5 million; statewide commercial gaming tax was $74.7 million, against $13.9 million.

The report also notes that because Resorts World "has failed to continually make" racing hold harmless payments, Chapter 127 of the Laws of 2026 authorised the Commission to pay the racing beneficiaries on its behalf, while the operator remains responsible. That took $12.9 million in September, leaving $37.8 million for education and $9.5 million for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The Commission's monthly mobile sports wagering report does not yet include September. Its weekly figures show $2.26 billion of handle in the four weeks to 27 September, up 4.4%, and GGR of $148.9 million, down 23.5%, most of the fall in the NFL opening week.

The Real Growth Is About 63%, and It Is Still Large

Stripped of the reclassification, Resorts World NYC added about $49 million of monthly revenue with live tables and roughly 1,400 extra machines in an existing building, well before the $5.5 billion investment the Genting group has planned for the property through 2030 is complete. It did so with fewer machines than a year earlier, about 3,990 against 5,534 including the Nassau OTB machines. The 220% is the arithmetic of a new row in a spreadsheet; the 63% is the operating story, and the one that matters for a group S&P has said is one downgrade from losing its investment grade, citing Genting New York's slower ramp.

The 56% Rate Pays the State Well but Leaves the Operator a Thin Slice

Resorts World offered the highest rates of the three downstate bidders, and in September the state took 47.5% of its GGR, far above what its two rivals will pay when they open. That suits Albany and the MTA, but it leaves the operator to fund a multi-billion expansion from about half its gaming revenue, and the racing hold harmless note may suggest the strain is already showing. Genting Bhd's proposed RM1.25 billion rights issue, approximately $306 million, to pay down debt is the group-level backdrop.

Upstate Is Flat Before the Real Competition Arrives

The four upstate casinos took $57.6 million together, about $50,000 less than a year earlier, but the split matters. Resorts World Catskills, the nearest of the four to New York City, saw table revenue fall 41.3% to $4.5 million on 11.9% less drop, while its slots rose 13.9%. One month is not a trend, and table hold swings, but it is the pattern one would expect if live tables in Queens are drawing players who used to drive north. The lower-taxed rivals are years away: the city's Public Design Commission tabled a vote on part of Metropolitan Park's design on 20 October, and the Queens Daily Eagle reports the project is behind schedule.

New York's casino market has not tripled; one casino has changed category and grown by about 63%. The test for upstate operators and for Genting is whether that growth holds once the novelty fades and two lower-taxed rivals are built.