Town of Newburgh Opening First Electronic Gaming Casino in State: First Video Lottery Terminal Location for New York will be Located in Orange County

Get ready to get your game on. On Monday evening, May 24, Town of Newburgh board members unanimously approved the first electronic video gaming casino in New York State to be located in the Newburgh Mall. It is the first—but certainly not the last—of VLT parlors to come to the Empire State.

Situated at the crossroad of Interstates 87 and 84 on Route 300, the 388,000 square foot Newburgh Mall has fallen on hard times over the past several years, losing Bon Ton, one of its two major anchors, and more than 25 percent of its smaller tenants. That will change now that the agreement between Monticello Raceway and Resorts World Catskills was unanimously approved, allowing Resorts World to move its 1,300 video lottery terminals from Sullivan County’s harness racing track to Newburgh. Resorts World’s signature restaurant/entertainment venue, Bar 360, will also be part of the new gaming parlor’s offerings.

During Monday night’s meeting, Town Supervisor Gil Piaquadio spoke of the board’s decision, noting the mall has struggled to attract occupants and that the casino will help revitalize the 40-year-old former destination and attract new tenants to several empty stores. “This will be the first VLT parlor in New York State and for Orange County,” said Piaquadio. He expects it to be a success, noting that Off-Track Betting in the town’s MidValley Mall operated for several years without incident, as did a similar gambling facility at Orange Lake, which operated from 1800 through the early 1950’s.

Resorts World Catskills proposed a 90,000 square-foot gaming/entertainment destination to the Town of Newburgh Planning Board after it began searching in 2018 for a new location for the former VLT parlor at Monticello Raceway. It expects to spend $32 million on the new gambling facility and expects the renovation to create 214 construction jobs, many of them union, and another 214 temporary jobs as it prepares to open. When completed, it will offer more than 200 full and part-time jobs, many of them Hotel Trade Union Council positions, with an average salary of $72,000/yr. plus benefits. For the Town of Newburgh and Orange County, it will produce $3 million in yearly fees that will be shared between the two.