New York’s Resorts World Catskills is moving up its opening date from March to mid-February to take advantage of the Lunar New Year festivities, a peak gambling season for the Asian clientele the property is targeting.
The fourth of the state’s new commercially owned casino hotels, and the largest of the four, has a slate of attractions planned for the occasion.
“We accelerated for the Lunar New Year,” said Executive Vice President Charles Degliomini. “We’re building a lot of amenities that cater to the Asian gaming market, and we didn’t want to miss that opportunity to surprise and delight our guests just by two weeks.”
The marketing will include luxury accommodations, authentic Asian cuisine, a full menu of baccarat and pai gow games, private salons for high rollers and a feng shui area for good luck.
In all, the $1.2 billion resort will feature 100,000 square feet of gaming, a 332-room hotel, a golf course and will sponsor charter jet service from Asia via the region’s Stewart International Airport.
Publicly traded Empire Resorts, which is developing the property and owns the nearby Monticello racetrack and racino, is majority held by Genting Group, the Malaysia-based conglomerate with deep roots in Asian gaming by virtue of large-scale integrated resorts in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
