New York Casinos and Gambling

Short Summary: This page looks at the different forms of gambling in the State of New York, discusses the legality of online gambling and gives a detailed listing of all of the Commercial and Tribal casinos in the state.

New York State is one of the more gambling-liberal states out there having legalized VLT’s at racetracks and creating commercial casinos in recent years. Prior to that (and still today) Tribal Casinos had been authorized via compacts with the state allowing for table games as well as Class II games with a minimum return percentage of 92%.

Prior to the racetracks and casinos, the Tribal games were more akin to electronic bingo in which prizes came from a pooled prize fund (seeds) that were added to the pool of possible results. The racetrack VLT’s operate somewhat similarly and have a minimum long-term expected return-to-player (by law) of 90%, which is one of the highest (if not the highest) minimum legal returns in the entire country. In other words, if you’re going to just randomly sit down and pick a penny machine, NY is a pretty good place to do that.

In addition to these forms of gambling, the state allows for pari-mutuel live and simulcast betting at their racetracks. Greyhound racing either never as legal in the state, or has been illegal (yay!) for quite some time.

The State of New York also allows for a wide variety of forms of Charitable Gambling, with such activity running, in one way or another, through the state’s lottery department. The current forms allowed are.

Bingo, Bell Jars, Las Vegas Nights and Raffles. The fees and percentage of revenues that go to the state vary by way of each permissible form of gambling. The most restricted (controlled) form is the Las Vegas Nights, which have a bevy of stipulations and restrictions, including only permitting an organization to operate twelve such periods per year.

The New York Lottery remains robust, according to their Fiscal Year 2019 report.

The largest single source of revenue is Instant Tickets, which also make up just over half of the total forms of, “Traditional Lottery,” revenues. Video Gaming (the racetracks) make up the entire source of non-traditional lottery revenues, and are also the second-largest single source of revenues at 20.2% compared to 41.0% for instant tickets.

38.8% of the revenues for the year were attributed to non-instant, “Drawing,” type games, which include both games contained fully within the state as well as multi-state major Jackpot type games; such as PowerBall and Mega Millions, which produced 3.8% and 4.6% of total revenues, respectively.

According to the report, the video gaming return-to-player was about 94.75% for the year, but that may also include promotional credits (free play) played. Revenue would be actual cash in v. cash out, so could theoretically even be negative, if enough promotional credits had been awarded and turned into cash. Overall, this percentage is up slightly from previous years, and so were the revenues. Funny thing other states could learn from New York, if you return to the players more money….they’re more willing to come back.

Other lottery forms appear to have returned 48.77% to players, according to Page 14 of the report. However, that is somewhat offset by the fact that those are actual payouts while there are a number of unpaid prizes (about 135.7 MILLION dollars worth) accounted for under liabilities. Had these been claimed, the returns to player would have been slightly more than 50% on other forms of lottery.

Instant tickets, of course, are one of the best paying forms of lottery in terms of return-to-player, as they are anywhere, with returns of roughly 67.26% (assuming all prizes are claimed) in the State of New York. This is probably about an average return, when it comes to instant tickets (scratchers) some states are better, some states are worse.

Mega Millions tickets returned about 48.5% (had all been claimed), so it can be assumed that they did not have a higher than expected number of big winners come out of the state that year.

The returns on their tickets known just as, “Lotto,” were positively abysmal, coming in at 35.56%. Of course, people still spent more than 69 million dollars on these tickets. Take 5 returned a little less than half of every dollar bet while Pick 10 was another absolutely putrid bet, returning only 44.19% to the players. Powerball players had a bad year, resulting in only a 45.29% return to them of all monies bet. “Other multi-state draw games,” returned 42% and just about everything else was within spitting distance of a 50% return.

The progression of casinos in the state went as follows:

Tribal-Racetracks (added VLTs)-Commerical

In fact, it was partially in response to expanded casino gambling in this state (as well as other surrounding states) that almost led to the passage of a bill that would authorize commercial casinos in Northern New Jersey—outside of Atlantic City. That bill would fail a few years back, enabling New York’s casinos to at least enjoy a few more years of less regional competition than they might otherwise have to endure.

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Online Gambling In New York

Update: According to CBS Sports, the State of New York technically legalized retail sports betting even prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), so the state got out ahead of that one.

Upon PASPA being overturned, the state would have retail (in-person) sports wagering as early as 2019, which would go on to include online wagering in the middle part of 2022.

As of the time of this writing, there are nine online sportsbooks that are licensed to operate within the state; this licensing is also separate, which means that the online books do not need to be tied to a land casino, or other retail betting location, as is the case in states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Montana and any number of others.

Of course, we would expect other extant online books, as well as potentially new operators, to try to get licensed as New York has one of the largest state populations in the country, so there should be plenty of action to go around.

According to NY Sportsday, online casino gambling has still not been authorized, which we also confirmed with other sources. Quoting, in part:

The most optimistic person about New York online casino legalization is State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens, who tells NY Sports Day he will push to have its legalization included in the 2023 state budget.

However, as “committed and fearless” as Addabbo is, he still must move at the pace of the New York State Legislature and other gambling regulatory bodies, says John A. Pappas, founder and CEO of Corridor Consulting. Pappas says if New York’s legalization of daily fantasy sports (DFS) and mobile sportsbooks are indications, that pace can be rather deliberate.

It’s clear that some politicians in the State of New York see the money from online casinos just pouring into the coffers of bordering states, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and he wants the state to get a piece of that action!

We suspect, given the state’s general liberal attitude towards other forms of gambling, combined with what New York sees other state treasuries bringing in, that it will only be a matter of time before online casinos, and probably poker, are made legal. We can’t say exactly when that might be, but we would predict that online casinos will likely go live within the next 2-3 years.

In the meantime, for those New Yorkers looking for casino-style wagering, there are a number of offshore online casinos that have offered services in your state for several years, so please see the list of our top recommendations above!

As of the time of this writing, New York has no specifically legalized and regulated forms of online gambling within the state. The most recent attempts at anything close were an effort to allow Charitable Organizations to sell raffle tickets online, which has not yet passed. New York also introduced an online poker bill a few years back, but that would die a Legislative death.

That being said, New York is a unique state in that there is nothing whatsoever that would make gambling online illegal for people acting as mere players. All statutes related to, “Unlawful gambling,” pertain only to operators, so you will not see any U.S.-based online casino operators with offerings in the State of New York.

That said, there are a number of online casinos (based outside of the United States) who are willing to offer their services in the State of New York, our Top 4 choices appear above.

Land Casinos In New York

For this section, we will include all Tribal Casinos, Commercial Casinos and racetracks with VLT games (also known as racinos) because all of these locations at least have machines.

Akwesasne Mohawk Casino

The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino is run by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and is located in Hogansburg (or Akwesasne), New York. This is a sizable property consisting of 140,000 square feet of gambling real estate. The property features a hotel consisting of 150 guestrooms and suites, as well as multiple lounges, spas and eateries.

The casino features a sizable area dedicated to Live Bingo and regularly updates the Bingo schedule on its website which can be found here.

The table games area opens at nine o’ clock every morning and operates until 4:00a.m. the following morning on weekdays as well as 6:00a.m. on weekends. Of the 27 table games, featured games are Blackjack, Let It Ride, Three-Card Poker, Caribbean Stud, Pai-Gow Poker, Roulette, Spanish 21, Craps and Mississippi Stud. Aside from the staple games, we always recommend calling ahead for typical operating hours. For example, Let It Ride likely does not operate around the clock.

The quiet five-table poker room opens at 5:00p.m. on weekdays and noon on weekends, dealing No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em exclusively with the number of tables (and limits) based on demand. There is the expected Bad Beat Jackpot that’s always moving and, as of the time of this writing, a poker tournament three days of the week.

The Sticks Sports Book and Grill features the primary location for making your sports bets, with the only other option being the kiosks at Cascades Lounge. The Sports Book opens at 11:00a.m. on weekdays as well as 10:00a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. They state on their website that there are plenty of plush chairs and couches as well as more than a dozen big screen TV’s for your viewing pleasure!

The more than 1,500 slot machines range in denomination from pennies to $25 and can be found sprawled across the massive expanse that is the casino’s main gaming area. As one would expect, both smoking and non-smoking areas are available for players. As we mentioned before, New York State requires a minimum 90% return-to-player on slot machines, so while we cannot guarantee that they are the highest-paying games out there, we can absolutely guarantee that they will not be the lowest. Judging from the featured slot offerings promoted by the website, this casino also likes to keep its games pretty current.

In addition to the 150 room hotel, there is also an RV Park on the property. Hotel amenities include complimentary wireless internet, indoor pool and hot tub, fitness center and business center. There is a resort fee of $12/night on top of the room rate, but we’ll at least give credit to the property that the resort fee is lower than many and is also very clearly stated on their site.

The property features six main restaurants, one of which is the Sticks Sports Book and Grill mentioned earlier. The casino’s buffet is known as Native Harvest. Maple Steak & Ale is the fine dining establishment featuring a wide selection of steaks and fresh seafood. Cascades Lounge and The Tavern are both mainly for drinking, but also feature your typical bar fare. Finally, Cedars Coffee offers Starbucks coffee as well as pastries.

In addition to the spa and casino, other forms of entertainment include a live band or DJ at Cascades Lounge every Friday and Saturday night. Additionally, regional and tribute acts make frequent stops at this establishment, moreso during the touristy season than the offseason. Other events can include wine tasting events and fashion expos.

Overall, the property falls short of being a world-class resort, but that’s because it is certainly not trying to be. With that said, it is also far from being a hole-in-the-wall and seems like a great place to spend a weekend with more than enough to do as well as gaming offerings that should satisfy every type of player.

Batavia Downs Casino (Racino)

Batavia Downs features the state-operated VLT”s as well as harness racing and will be celebrating its 80th birthday this year! (2020) Located in Batavia, New York (between Buffalo and Rochester), this property features a harness racing track of precisely a half mile.

As far as VLT’s are concerned, their website boasts that they have more than 800 such devices in the racino. If you’re really interested in knowing what they have, it appears that they list every single game, denomination and location within the property on their website…which is extremely unique. And, again, the minimum long-term expected return on any of these machines is 90%, making it one of the best guaranteed values penny players are going to find. That’s not to say that other states don’t have penny games over 90%, just that such a percentage is not guaranteed.

Simulcast racing and betting is available seven days per week, with schedules to be found here.

Live racing takes place from July-December, with August-October having the most racing days and earliest start times. December, for example, only conducted live racing on the first two weekends of the month last year.

The hotel consists of 84 guestrooms and offers guests complimentary wireless internet as well as a free hot breakfast. As of the time of this writing, each guest also receives $10 free play per each night stayed, so that’s a good way to get people down to the racino floor. The hotel looks basically nice, if forced to make a comparison to a national chain, I’d basically equivocate this hotel to a relatively new Comfort Inn & Suites.

Dining options include Fortune’s, 34 Rush, Homestretch Grill & Clubhouse and Rail Bar. Unfortunately, aside from the operating hours, the website does not do much to differentiate the offerings of one eatery as opposed to the other.

Overall, this place basically amounts to a locals racetrack and racino, but that’s not a bad thing. If you’re passing through the area and don’t mind playing VLTs, it’s worth a stop, and honestly, the hotel rates and amenities are pretty reasonable anyway…with or without any gaming offerings. Even if you don’t gamble much, if they’re still doing the $10 free play per guest night when you’re there, no harm in taking that to the floor and taking your shot!

Belmont Park Race Track

Belmont Park Race Track is a horse racing track located in Elmont, New York that does not conduct any gambling activities related to table games or machines. The main track is a 1.5 mile dirt track that is known for conducting thoroughbred racing, most notably, The Belmont Stakes.

Live racing is currently conducted mainly from April through June, and though subject to change, simulcast wagering is similarly limited to live race days with a note on the site directing folks to Aqueduct for simulcast wagering.

Buffalo Raceway

Buffalo Raceway is located in Hamburg, New York and is a half-mile harness racing track that conducts live racing events from January through July. Simulcast wagering, as of the time of this writing, is available year round on Wednesday through Sunday.

Del Lago Resort and Casino (Commercial)

That brings us to the Del Lago Resort and Casino, our first Commercial Casino offering in this list. Del Lago Resort and Casino is located in Tyre (Central), New York and is operated by JNB Gaming. The website separately lists its location as Waterloo, New York, so perhaps some GPS services like one thing and the others like Tyre. The shine shouldn’t be off of this property just yet, as it opened in 2017 at a cost of over 400 million dollars to build.

The property features just shy of 2,000 slot machines, more than eighty gaming tables and an additional poker room consisting of fourteen tables. This casino was able to open despite a litany of lawsuits from Native American interests in an attempt to prevent it.

Del Lago is another example of a casino that lists its full offerings on its website by denomination, title and location. Once again, if you have a few machines amongst your favorites, the site makes it really convenient for you to see whether or not they can be found there.

Stating that they have 66 gaming tables, Del Lago’s website actually disagrees with other listings. If I had to guess, they are listing how many physical tables are there whilst other listing sites are mentioning based on how many they are licensed to have. For that reason, we have listed both of these things. Amongst the 66 tables, Spanish 21, Caribbean Stud, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Craps, Blackjack, Pai-Gow Poker, Crazy 4 Poker, Mississippi Stud, Caribbean Poker, Mississippi Stud, Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, Criss Cross Poker, Roulette, Big 6 and Baccarat are all listed.

As always, these games almost certainly do not ALL operate around the clock, so we would recommend calling and getting the general hours for your game of choice if it is not one of the big three of Craps, Roulette and Blackjack.

Their website agrees with other sources that their poker room does indeed consist of 14 tables. They offer limit and No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, Pot-Limit Omaha and Seven-Card Stud with blinds and offerings based on the demand at any given time. The room also features regular poker tournaments. Fortunately, this poker room also lists itself on Bravo Poker Live, so that’s a good way to get an idea of what games/limits to expect since you can see what it going on at any given time.

The Sportsbook is owned and operated by DraftKings, a name that may be more familiar to you because of Daily Fantasy Sports. The book itself is also home to one of the property’s eateries, although, if you want a table for an NFL game, you’ll have to spend a minimum of $30 a head, per each game. Basically, they charge each person $30 and give them that amount in food or beverage credit which they either choose to use or lose. If the average spend ends up being more than $30 per head, then effectively there would not be a fee…just whatever amount was spent.

The hotel consists of 205 guestrooms and suites with a clearly listed resort fee of either $10 or $20 (depends on the room type) on the site. Obviously, the resort fee sucks, but at least they’re not doing anything to hide it if you book with them directly. The hotel at least offers a number of different packages, based on visitor preferences, that should generally result in a lower cost than purchasing each item individually. The property is home to a spa. Valet parking is an included amenity which is considered part of the resort fee, if other amenities are included, this writer apologizes…their website didn’t make them easy enough to find for my liking.

Centrifico features live theatre followed by DJ entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays. Tribute acts as well as bands that were big in the past are also featured in a venue consisting of more than 2,000 seats. For one example, Firehouse is set to appear later this year (2020). In addition to the music, comedy acts appear with some frequency.

A wide variety of eateries are available starting with Savoy Bar NY, which features classy lounge grub and a wide array of libations. The Sociale is known for happy hours, quality cocktails and bar grub. Portico by Fabio Viviani reads like an upscale casual steakhouse. The casino buffet is known as the Farmers Market Buffet. Sociale is also a coffee shop, so what they mainly do kind of depends on the hour. DraftKings Sportsbook features some casual American grub. Thai Mii Up Express does what it says on the box (Asian food), Smashburger has what you would expect and Ciccino’s is a pizza, calzones and salad place.

All considered, the property is nice and very new, but it calls itself a resort in the way that only a casino property can. Definitely a great place to go if you’re in that area, but there’s no real reason to consider the property a destination unto itself. We will say that, depending on the operating hours, the table games selection is likely one of the best that you will find in the entire state.

Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway

Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway is owned and operated by MGM Resorts, and as such, is part of the MLIFE rewards program, which operates nationally. In terms of the machines, it is a racino as they are state VLTs, but this racino is also permitted to have table games. From a racing standpoint, it is also a one half-mile harness racing track. As one would gather from the name, the casino is located in Yonkers, New York.

The property features a total of over 5,000 machines, including several electronic table games. Amongst these table games are Baccarat, Three-Card Poker, Roulette, Sic Bo, Craps and Blackjack.

The racetrack portion of the property features daily simulcast racing and wagering as well as live racing that is conducted five nights per week.

The Big Kitchen is the property’s food court featuring pizza, burgers, a deli and a noodle bar. Lil Cocina is the place for grab and go type things while The Pub features the sort of food one would expect from a pub. The Empire Terrace Restaurant is the place for more formal dining.

Because it is a racetrack with state operated games, the gambling age for this establishment is 18, as opposed to the usual 21.

Finally, if the racetrack is eventually permitted to expand to full gambling (live tables, non VLT slots, poker) offerings, there are plans to build a hotel. That plan has been on wait and see mode for several years, though.

Not much to say about this one, basically amounts to a large VLT racino with electronic table games and a few restaurants. We can’t imagine any reason for it to be of any interest, despite its size, to anyone except people from the area.

Hamburg Gaming

Hamburg Gaming is located in Hamburg, New York and is part of Buffalo Raceway at the Fairgrounds. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as Fairgrounds Gaming. The property is owned and operated by Delaware North, which owns and operates a few racinos and casinos, mostly on the eastern half of the country. Interestingly, Delaware North’s primary business is in airport and sports stadium concessions.

The players club for the property is the Lucky North Club, but the different Delaware North properties pretty much market separately. Some club benefits, however, crossover from one location to another depending on card level.

The 55,000 square foot gaming floor consists of more than 900 state operated VLTs, which as we have said, must have a minimum return of at least 90%. Similar to some other New York gaming locations, a list of their offerings is available on their website.

Live harness racing takes place on select dates from January through July whilst simulcast wagering is available on Wednesday-Sunday. That is all pretty typical to the Delaware North model, if a day of the week is underperforming, then just kill that day of the week. It’s kind of a theme with them, but it makes sense.

Dining consists of the Midway Buffet, a Tim Horton’s Cafe location, the Blue Ribbon Grill and the Cyclone Bar. The Cyclone Bar seems to feature a live band or DJ most days of the weekend.

The current promotion for new players is a negligible amount of free play, currently a $10 cash for $20 free play offer. The expected profit on that is essentially $8, but again, that’s the standard Delaware North model. It’s tough to say how good the monthly offers would be because that can vary pretty significantly from one Delaware North property to another.

Long and short story: Locals place.

Jake’s 58 Hotel and Casino

Located in Islandia, New York, Jake’s 58 Hotel and Casino is another property owned and operated by Delaware North.

Their website says very little about the slot machines excepting only the fact that there are, “Hundreds,” of them. 200? 900? Something in between? Who knows? If they don’t want to tell us, we’re not going to go there and count them all for them. In addition to the slot type games, electronic table games include Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat, Three-Card Poker and Roulette.

While there is no racetrack, the property features off-track betting, which is available from 8:00a.m.-4:00a.m., at least, that’s when the area is open. Whether or not the simulcast tracks have a race going on probably depends on the day.

The two dining options consist of Bistro 58 (fusion) as well as a coffee shop called C + M.

The hotel consists of 227 guest rooms and suites, and the rates will seem ridiculously high, but that’s because they usually have a promotion going whereby the guest can earn up to $150 free play with a qualifying hotel stay. Don’t get too excited, though, even if all the free play is converted to cash, it would only bring the price down to what you would expect a room to cost. To say the rooms look extremely standard would be too kind; they’re just plain.

Definitely mostly a locals place, but maybe worth a stay if you like VLTs and are going to be in the area anyway.

Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track

Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track is a racino located in Farmington, New York and is also owned and operated by Delaware North. The company must have really saw something it liked in the New York Racino market!

The thoroughbred racing track features seasonal live racing and is home to the New York Derby. No, separating the words, “Race,” and, “Track,” is not a typo, that’s how the name is stylized, for whatever reason.

The 44,000 square foot gaming floor features 1,100 games, an alphabetical list of which is available on their website. Simulcast is open daily, and as of the time of this writing, the 2020 live racing schedule was yet to be announced, so check the website for that at a later time, if you wish.

Dining options consist of Remedy Bar, Vineyard Buffet and Platinum Grille.

Not much else to say about this one.

Lakeside Entertainment Casino

Located in Seneca Falls, New York, Lakeside Entertainment Casino is owned and operated by the Cayuga Nation.

Hours and games are available on this page.

There are 86 machines and no eateries, aside from a vending machine.

Monticello Gaming and Raceway

Monticello Gaming and Raceway is a harness racing track for standardbreds featuring a half-mile oval course as well as VLTs that are operated through the state. Owned by Empire Resorts, the owners originally wanted to expand to add full Tribal Gaming to the track (interesting!) but those efforts were struck down as the proposed location was deemed to be too far from the raceway.

Eventually, Monticello Raceway would abandon their VLTs completely, consolidating them with those at Resorts World Catskills, so effectively, Monticello is just a raceway again. Simulcast is available daily and live racing takes place during certain days across the calendar.

Point Place Casino

Point Place Casino is located in Bridgeport, New York and is owned and operated by the Oneida Indian Nation. The property is home to machines, table games and a sportsbook.

The property works with Caesars Sports to bring players The Lounge by Caesars Sports, the property’s sportsbook. The property is also home to 500 gaming machines, with what appears to be a comprehensive list appearing on their website.

Of the twenty gaming tables, included games are Blackjack, Craps, Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Mississippi Stud and Spanish 21. They also have electronic roulette and electronic Big Six wheel available. Operating hours for specific games might vary from general operating hours, so we always suggest calling in advance if you are looking for times that a particular game runs.

Dining options include Burgers of Madison County, Fireside Lounge, Wicked Good Pizza, Paddle Bar and a place called Opals for fun snacks and desserts. The Paddle Bar also features live music on most weekend nights.

Mostly going to be a locals place, but it seems cool enough and has some varied offerings, considering its size.

Resorts World Catskills

Resorts World Catskills opened for business in 2018 and is home to 100,000 square feet of gaming space. With over 150 table games and over 1,600 slot machines, the property sure packs a lot onto their casino floor!

The property also features two hotels, the first being an all-suites hotel and the second being The Alder at Resorts World Catskills. The two hotels combine for well-over 300 guest rooms and suites. Amenities include 55 inch televisions as well as wireless internet access for all guests. Guests will also enjoy the indoor pool and fitness center, while guests of The Alder have access to a TopGolf Swing Suites golf simulator.

The resort fee is $19.99/night, which is not disclosed until the time of booking unless someone clicks on, “Rate breakdown,” at which point it is listed. The property also separately lists fees for valet parking, so it is unknown whether the resort fee causes that to be included—doubtful.

One other aspect of the resort fee is that it appears to go up or down based on the room type selected, and perhaps the cost of the room…so that is extremely unusual.  Usually the, “Resort fee,” is supposed to be for resort amenities, not variable based on the room type. They could just as easily call it, “Arbitrary extra charges.” We selected a weekend day to compare the resort fees and it does appear they do not change with room cost, but rather with room type.

The property features a combined over 1,600 slots, video poker and video keno machines. There is a list of most of the titles available on their website, but listings such as location and denomination are not included, so the list is not as comprehensive as it would be in other New York casino properties. Still, it’s a pretty good list if a player is looking for a specific slot or video poker title and wants to know if it can be found.

The property’s website says they are home to 150 gaming tables, including such games as Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Pai-Gow Tiles, Roulette, Big Six, Crazy 4 Poker, Let it Ride, Mississippi Stud, Three-Card Poker, Caribbean Stud, Casino War, Sic Bo, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em and Pai-Gow Poker. As always, if your game of choice is more of a novelty or carnival game, we recommend calling in advance for typical operating hours.

The poker room features twenty tables and spreads Limit and No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, Pot Limit Omaha and Seven Card Stud. The property lists itself on Bravo Poker LIve for your convenience, so following on that will show games in progress now and also give a general idea what games are going on at any particular time.

Sportsbook 360 is the property’s sports book and hours for that are available on their website. While the book itself (as well as the bar) is not open around the clock, the property features betting kiosks that are.

The property features a number of dining establishments, including the 24/7 Bistro for comfort food, Cellalio, an Italian flair steakhouse, Dos Gatos Cantina for Mexican, DoubleTop Bar and Grill with a sports bar menu, Good Friends which features Asaian street food, Lotus for finer Asian (mostly Chinese fare), Sportsbook 360 has bar food, Empire Lounge and finally, there is a food court known as RW Food Hall.

In terms of regular entertainment, DoubleTop features karaoke on Fridays and various live entertainment on Saturdays. A live DJ appears at the Empire Lounge on weekends. There are also major national acts that sometimes pop up at Headliners.

Overall, this property features just enough of an array of amenities and activities to reasonably be called a resort. It doesn’t sound like anything that would make it a destination unto itself, but seems more of a place for a staycation sort of thing. It might also be worthy of consideration if one is going to be in the Catskills area anyway. There are plenty of gaming and dining options, but overall, the property seems fairly expensive and the varying resort fees are unusual.

Resorts World New York City & Aqueduct Racetrack

Resorts World New York City and Aqueduct Racetrack (the only racetrack in New York City) are technically two separate places, but since they basically share real estate, they will be listed together.

Aqueduct Racetrack is home to year-round simulcast wagering and features live racing from October through April. There are three racetracks with the main one being 1 and 1/8th miles around with two smaller tracks inside of that one.

Another thing worthy of note is the fact that the property is actually owned by New York State, with Genting (Resorts World) having won a bid to operate the casino portion of the property.

The casino part of the property features 4,400 video lottery slot machines, as well as a number of electronic table games including Blackjack, Baccarat, Three-Card Poker, Roulette, Craps, Big Six Wheel and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em.

Dining options include a Starbucks, Good Friends Noodle House, RW Prime Steakhouse and a food court with several different options.

In terms of entertainment, there is regular entertainment both at Bar 360 and a third floor event space known as Central Park. A Bar 360 calendar of events is available on their site.

State run VLT’s have a minimum return to player of 90%, so at least that’s good. They also have electronic table games. Aside from that, there’s really very little to say about this place as it can be summarized as an overgrown slot parlor mainly meant for people from the area.

Rivers Casino and Resort Schenectady

Rivers Casino and Resort is a sprawling property located in Schenectady New York and is affiliated with the other Rivers-branded properties (Illinois and Pennsylvania) owned by Rush Street Gaming. The same ownership also owns SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, no idea why they decided to brand that one differently.

The Landing Hotel is the casino’s hotel property and consists of 165 combined guest rooms and suites. Amenities sometimes include a breakfast buffet. Why sometimes? Because it costs $10 per guests staying Friday-Sunday nights but is otherwise free. Laughable. The hotel is already naturally going to charge more on weekends for rooms, so why the need to double down on it by also charging for breakfast?

Aside from that, the property features a fitness center, sunroom and wireless internet.

It appears that this property (went to the last step of completing a booking) has no resort fee, it’s a surprise they don’t push that fact more heavily. We will also give credit that the rates seem more or less reasonable for the area.

The casino floor is home to more than 1,150 combined slots, video poker and video keno machines. Unlike the other New York casinos, they do not seem to offer a comprehensive list on their site, at least not one that is easily found. Honestly, we’ve rarely ever seen that aside from the fact that most of the New York locations do it.

The property features 67 gaming tables which include games such as Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three Card Poker, Let it Ride, Pai Gow Poker, Mini Baccarat, Midi Baccarat, EZ Baccarat, Mississippi Stud and Heads Up Hold ‘Em. As always, it is almost certain that not every single one of these games operates around the clock, so we recommend calling ahead for the typical hours of operation if you are looking for a specific game.

The poker room features sixteen live poker tables as well as a poker tournament schedule that is made available on their website.

Hours vary for the Rivers Sportsbook, which can seat nearly 100 people in total. Self-betting kiosks are available 24/7.

The property is home to five different eating venues including Flipt for burgers, Mian for Asian food, Johnny’s To Go for pizza and related things, the Villa Italia Delicatessen and Dukes Chophouse.

The players club for the property is known as the Rush Rewards players club, but the different Rivers Casinos essentially market separately. Some card benefits (tiers) may carry over from one casino to another, but if you get free play offers from one, that doesn’t mean you’ll get them from any of the others.

Finally, there is generally either a band or DJ at the casino bar called Van Slyck’s (weekends) as well as occasional entertainment at both indoor and outdoor venues.

There is probably just enough here that would make this a great staycation destination for regional folks and for those who like the Rivers casino brand (unlike Pittsburgh) this property does have an attached hotel. Beyond that, this casino is almost certainly worth a look if you’re going to be staying in that area anyway.

Saratoga Casino Hotel & Saratoga Race Course

Once again, these are actually two different places, though the race course property in Saratoga Springs, New York is located directly across the street from the Saratoga hotel. As with Aqueduct Racetrack, the race course property is home to three different tracks with the same specs.

The Saratoga Casino Hotel also has a ½ mile standardbred horse racing track and that property is owned and operated by Saratoga Harness Racing. The property’s status as a racetrack is what enables them to operate state-run VLT’s, which are similar to slot machines and have minimum returns of 90% to players. For that reason, the property is more of a racino, despite the casino moniker.

The hotel consists of 117 guestrooms and suites and features an indoor pool as well as a whirlpool hot tub. Construction of the hotel part of the property was completed in 2016, the year that the hotel opened. Other amenities include a fitness center and wireless internet access for guests. Once again, this property does not appear to have a resort fee, so kudos to them for that.

The property features over 1,700 combined slot like games as well as electronic table games. Additionally, simulcast wagering is available year round for people who like to pick the ponies.

Dining options include Morton’s The Steakhouse, Garden Buffet, Lucky Joe’s for pizza, Fortune’s which features prime rib and upscale casual food and Perks Cafe which serves Starbucks Coffee.

The property features regular entertainment with a full list of upcoming events available on their website. Live horse racing begins in February every year.

There’s really not much to say about this one, it’s just an oversized video lottery parlor with a racetrack. The hotel looks nice enough, so it’s definitely a property to consider if you’re going to be in the area anyway, but no reason to make a special trip.

Seneca Allegany Casino

The Seneca Allegany Casino is located in Salamanca, New York and is owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians. The property is home to over 68,000 square feet of gaming space and features a hotel consisting of more than 400 guestrooms and suites. For those of you unfamiliar with Salamanca, it is about an hour south of Buffalo, if that helps.

The property has received a AAA Four Diamond rating every year since 2005 and features an indoor pool, whirlpool, fitness center, big screen TV’s in all rooms and complimentary wireless internet. The resort fee for the hotel varies based on the room type.

The casino floor features more than 1,500 combined slots, video poker and video keno games ranging in denomination from pennies to $100 per credit. While the site does not have a comprehensive list of games, it does have a list of some of their newer titles.

The table games area is home to thirty gaming tables with games such as Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Craps, Roulette, Mississippi Stud, Let it Ride, Three Card Poker and Spanish 21 available. As always, we recommend calling ahead for the general operating hours if your flavor is one of the novelty/carnival type games.

Fine dining choices include The Western Door Steakhouse and Patria. Casual dining options are Thunder Mountain Buffet and Seneca Cafe. Quick eats include Bear Claw Cafe and Seneca Cafe Express.

The River Bar features live entertainment on weekends and Seneca Allegany Event Center features larger entertainment acts on various days of the year with a schedule appearing on their website.

This place is a great staycation place for people from around the region and is definitely worth a look if you’re staying in the area or just passing through.

Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino

Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, naturally, is also owned by the Seneca Nation of New York and is located in Buffalo, New York. The original property opened in 2007 as a temporary structure and the permanent property opened in 2013 and consists of 67,000 feet of gaming space.

The property features roughly 1,100 combined slot, video poker and video keno machines. Denominations range from pennies to $25 machines. There is a partial list of games available on their website, most of them newer, but strangely, the images on the website do not necessarily represent the games. For example, they advertise an Ocean Magic Grand game, but Ocean Magic Grand looks nothing like the three reel game featured in the image. That is also the case for a few other games.

The casino features 30 gaming tables inclusive to Mini-Baccarat, Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Craps, Roulette, Mississippi Stud, Let it Ride, Three Card Poker and Spanish 21. As always, we recommend calling ahead for the typical operating times of the carnival games as they are likely not operating around the clock.

The property features a new Sports Lounge for you sports bettors out there. The lounge is open from Noon-Midnight Monday through Friday and from 10:00a.m. to midnight on weekends. In addition to the operating hours, there are sports betting kiosks (self-serve) that are available 24 hours per day.

This property does not feature a hotel, though one might have originally been planned. The permanent casino was not intended to open as late as 2013, but due to the Great Recession, the original plans were not only scaled back, but what they did end up building was also significantly delayed.

Eateries include Phillips WD Bar and Grill, The Creek and Creek Stop as well as the bars, B-Lo Bar and Stixx Sports Bar.

While the property does not have a hotel of its own, there are a handful of hotels that the property has partnered with to provide complimentary shuttle service to and from the casino. That list is available on their website.

If there is live entertainment at this property, it was not listed on their website as of the time of this writing.

The original intent might have been more grand than what this property ended up being, but in the end, they ended up with a perfectly decent casino geared mainly towards locals and those who happen to be in the Buffalo area anyway. There is definitely no real need to make it a point to visit this casino if you’re not already going to be in the area, but if you are, it’s probably worth a stop.

Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Irving

Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Irving is located in a town of the same name and is owned by the Seneca Nation of New York. The property features around 650 machines, is separated into both smoking and non-smoking areas. Machine denominations range from pennies to $10 credits.

This property is also home to a bingo hall for which the schedule can be found here:.

While Seneca Niagara and Seneca Salamanca have live poker rooms, this location does not.

There is no restaurant, per se, at this property. However, there are concessions available which operate at varying times on varying days. As of the time of this writing, those days are Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Overall, this property is essentially just an overgrown slots parlor that happens to have a bingo hall and is geared mostly towards locals.

Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Oil Spring

Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Oil Spring is located in Cuba, New York and is the newest property owned by the Seneca Nation of New York. They feature 110 total gaming machines ranging in denomination from pennies to $10 per credit.

Unfortunately, there is not much else to say about this property as it really does just amount to a very large slot parlor intended almost entirely for locals.

Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Salamanca

Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Salamanca is located in a town of the same name and, like the other, “Gaming and Entertainment,” branded properties, is geared mostly for locals. Naturally, it is owned by the Seneca Nation of New York.

This property differs slightly from the above two Seneca Gaming and Entertainment properties firstly because it is a little bit larger than the others, and secondly, because it has a live poker room.

Like the others, credits range from pennies to $10 denomination machines. There are 340 machines divided into smoking and non-smoking sections, which is less than Irving, but again, this property has a poker room.

Similarly to Irving, there is a bingo hall on this property that is open daily with hours available on their website. There is a number on their website that one can call for poker room hours, it also directs a person to check the page for Salamanca, which I did, but the hours for the poker room did not seem to appear there. Until this information is updated on their website, we must just suggest that you call the number they have provided.

The other difference between this and other, “Gaming and Entertainment,” properties is that it does have an eatery, Jazzy’s Place, that’s open daily.

In the end, this is still an overgrown slot parlor (but with poker and bingo) mainly meant for locals and passers-through.

Seneca Niagara Casino

On the American side of Niagara Falls, Seneca Niagara Casino is owned by the Seneca Nation of New York and features 147,000 square feet of gaming real estate. Outside of Manhattan, the 604 room hotel is the largest in the State of New York and the property (as well as the Falls themselves) attracts millions of visitors annually.

The hotel consists of 604 guestrooms and suites of all types. Amenities include an indoor pool and hot tub as well as a sizable fitness center that is probably comparable to some of your local workout membership facilities, depending on where you are when you read this. Moreover, the property features complementary wireless internet for all of its guests.

Of course, these things are called, “Complementary,” when they are really not. Unfortunately, there is a resort fee of $20 per night (tack on an additional $10/night) per suites that is not disclosed until one is pretty deep in the online booking process.

Unfortunately, we have reached the point where resort fees are just farcical. It seems like almost everybody charges them and all they really are is an additional fee to the advertised room rate that is presented at varying times and does not represent anything. To wit, the resort fee for this property does not even attempt to ascribe any amenities to it. It’s just there. Nothing about the property or what a guest gets has substantially changed since they started instituting the resort fees.

The slot floor features over 2,500 combined slots, video poker and video keno machines ranging in denomination from pennies to $100/credit. There is a partial list of available game titles on their website divided into newer games as well as games they describe as, “Favorites.”

The tables game pit features approximately eighty gaming tables consisting of Blackjack, Pai Gow Poker, Baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud, Mississippi Stud, Let it Ride, Pai-Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Spanish 21 and Big Six. Despite the size of this casino, we do recommend calling ahead of time if there is a particular carnival game that you are looking for aside from Blackjack, Craps and Roulette.

The poker room consists of sixteen tables spreading Texas Hold ‘Em, Pot Limit Omaha and Seven Card Stud. Tournament schedules for the poker room are available on their website.

Out with the old and in with the new, the casino once featured live keno, but that is no longer the case as of July of 2019. Instead, the new sports lounge allows for sports betting and is open from Noon-Midnight Monday through Friday as well as 10:00a.m. to midnight on weekends. In addition to these operating hours, bets may also be placed at self-serve kiosks that are open 24/7.

Fine dining options at this property consist of The Western Door Steakhouse, La Cascata (Italian restaurant) as well as Koi, for Asian food. Casual dining options consist of the Thunder Falls Buffet, Three Sisters Cafe (American) and Blues Burger Bar. Quick eats include Morrie’s Express (sandwiches and such) Tim Horton’s Cafe and Cold Stone Creamery (well-known ice cream chain).

This property features two sizable entertainment venues, the largest being the Seneca Niagara Event Center with the smaller one being the Bear’s Den Showroom. Upcoming schedules for both of these venues are available on their website. A smaller venue is called Barrel of Laughs comedy, but it’s difficult to say what is going on there as the website does not list any upcoming events at this time, it might be reserved more for tourist season. The other entertainment venue is Stir, which is a bit more uppity with its dress code, but features live events on most days of the weekend ranging from comedy to DJ’s to live bands.

Overall, there is no shortage of things to do or places to eat at the Seneca Niagara Casino. Even if you’re not in the mood for gaming on a given day, much like Seneca Allegany, the facilities are world class, so there should be plenty to keep you occupied. This is definitely a destination property so whether you are using a visit to this establishment as an excuse to go see Niagara Falls, or going to Niagara Falls as a reason to visit/stay at this establishment, it all works out in the end. While there is definitely more in the way of entertainment and gaming on weekends, (in terms of hours and probably poker/table game choices) that’s also going to come at an increased cost. Even if you choose to go on the weekdays, there is still going to be plenty to do and plenty of dining options to keep it fresh.

Tioga Downs & Casino

The name is often shortened to simply, “Tioga Downs.” Located in Nichols, New York, perhaps the most interesting aspect of this property was that it was once a complete failure. It opened at some point in the 70’s and, after three years of just bleeding money, would close until the mid-2000’s with no plans of reopening until state operated video lottery terminals were authorized. That happened, and there was suddenly interest in the property again!

With the expanded gaming options, the property became so successful that it just opened a hotel in 2017. The 160 room and suite hotel features a saltwater indoor pool, arcade, and game area. Additionally, there is a seasonal outdoor water slide for guests and children to enjoy. Complimentary breakfast is available for hotel guests Monday-Friday mornings, but on weekends, there is a buffet that guests must pay for. We will give credit insofar as the complementary things, such as the wireless internet, are actually complimentary. As of the time of this writing, Tioga Downs does not charge a resort fee.

The casino floor features nearly 900 combined slots, video poker and video keno machines with a semi-comprehensive list of games appearing on their website. The games range from pennies to $5/credit in denomination.

Additionally, the property is home to 28 gaming tables and spreads such games as Blackjack, Spanish 21, Craps, Roulette, Pai Gow Poker, Mini and Midi Baccarat, Big Six, Let it Ride, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker and Mississippi Stud. As always, we recommend calling ahead for the usual times of operation for your carnival game of choice if one of those is your preferred game.

The live poker room consists of six tables and claims to have both Limit and No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, Limit and Pot Limit Omaha, Five Card Stud and Seven Card Stud. It’s a pretty safe bet that they’re just saying they can deal these games in the event of sufficient demand, otherwise, each individual table would have to be dealing a different game for all to be the case at the same time. Chances are, it’s usually just Texas Hold Em and Omaha games going on at any given time, so we recommend calling for more specific information.

For a fairly small casino, one cannot help but be impressed with the wide array of dining options. For starters, Java G’s is a coffeehouse that also offers sandwiches and ice cream. Other eateries include PJ Clarke’s (located in the hotel), Birgil’s Real Barbecue, Sideshow Lounge, County Fair Buffet, Coasters Sports Bar, Carousel Bar and Mr. G’s Post Time Pizza.

The property is also home to a 5/8th mile harness racing track that generally features live racing from May through September. Simulcast viewing and betting, however, is available year-round except for on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Sideshow Lounge generally features live bands on the weekends while the concert center often holds bigger events during the Summer months.

We consider Tioga Downs pretty impressive in that it has fewer than 1,000 slot machines, but simultaneously has all of the other offerings that one might expect from and establishment with 2000+ machines. If you’re anywhere near the Nichols area, we would recommend stopping by for a visit and are also impressed with the newness and amenities of their hotel, so we think you should consider a stay while you’re there!

Turning Stone Resort Casino

Opened in 1993 and located in Verona, New York, Turning Stone Resort and Casino is a sprawling property consisting of nearly 125,000 square feet of total gaming space and over 700 guestrooms and suites between four different hotels located on their real estate. If you’re travelling by RV, you’re still in luck, not just on the casino floor but because Turning Stone is home to an RV Park. This property is owned by the Oneida Indian Nation.

Daily non-casino activities include an arcade, outdoor golf, indoor golf simulators, indoor pools and hot tubs. One of the hotels is mainly geared towards guests that are staying on the property for golf-related reasons.

The casino floor consists of over 2,000 slot machines ranging in denomination from pennies to high limit machines. While not the most comprehensive (denominations not included) there is a reasonably large list of slot titles available on their website.

Whilst the number of table games is not included on the website, they do list what types of games are available, inclusive to the following: Blackjack, Craps, Caribbean Stud Poker, Let it Ride, Roulette, Mississippi Stud, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Baccarat, Sic Bo, Texas Hold ’Em Bonus, Mini Bac, Midi Bac (Macau style), The Big Six Money Wheels and Casino War. As always, we recommend calling in advance if you’re looking for a specific less common game as they usually do not operate around the clock.

The bingo room opens every day at 9:00a.m. and features convenient snack bar service. Information about costs, the different types of games and schedules for specific games appears on their website. This casino also features one of the only live keno games in the state, which operates from 8:00a.m.-2:00a.m., so if that’s your cup of tea, you’re in luck!

The poker room consists of 32 tables and conveniently lists itself on Bravo Poker Live, so you can use that site/app to see what games are going on at any specific time and can determine what sort of games you might expect on the days/times of your visit in particular. The poker room also features regular tournaments with that information kept pretty up to date on their website.

The Lounge with Caesars Sports is the property’s sports book and operates daily with varying hours that are available on the website.

As one would expect, there are a number of dining options scattered throughout not only the casino itself, but also the different hotels of the property as well as the golf course. TS Steakhouse is a fine dining establishment located on top of the casino’s main tower open a few days of the week. Wildflowers is a fine dining type establishment featuring custom continental choices. Pino Bianco is a fine Italian restaurant that features both New World and Old World inspired Italian dishes as well as an impressive assortment of wines. Peach Blossom is an upscale casual Asian eatery with a focus primarily on Chinese and Tai cuisine.

Upstate Tavern is more of a casual eatery focusing mostly on American food, but also has a smattering of recipes from around the world, very eclectic menu overall. Tin Rooster features what they call, “Country American,” food, which we assume means that it is inspired by Southern and BBQ cooking. You should be impressed with it if you’re not from so-called, “Country America,” but if you are, you might want to try one of the other eateries instead. Why eat a not as good version of what you can eat anytime? Season’s Harvest is the property’s buffet featuring choices from around the world. There is a restaurant called Emerald, but it is closed as of the time of this writing and it is unknown to us whether or not the menu will remain the same upon reopening.

The Food Hall at Turning Stone is the quick and cheap(er) food court that offers a deli stand, taco stand, pizza, burgers and perhaps some other things for coffee and dessert. Noodle Noodle does what it says on the box with Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese inspired dishes. Delta Cafe is the grab and go type place located in the bingo hall that we mentioned earlier. Finally, Opals is a little spot mainly for Starbucks coffees and desserts.

Once again, this property features four distinct hotels that are all meant to cater to different types of guests, so rather than list them all here, we would simply encourage you to visit the Turning Stone website or give them a call to see what might be the best option for the reason for your stay as well as who is staying with you.

There is a major concert venue at the property as well as live entertainment taking place at the various bars and restaurants at essentially any given time. What we would have to recommend is a visit to the website to see what’s going on if you’re looking for (or to avoid, such as at one of the restaurants) live entertainment during your stay. Just one writer’s opinion, but there’s almost nothing worse for me than a live musical performance going on ten feet from where I’m trying to eat dinner and enjoy a conversation.

Beyond dispute, Turning Stone Resort and Casino is very much a legitimate resort property with the offerings to back up that moniker. We would have to recommend taking a trip to this property if you are going to be anywhere near the area of Verona, and honestly, it might even be worth taking a look at the website to see if you want to make it its own trip. Even during the off-season, there is no shortage of activities that would prevent this casino and resort from being an easy place to kill an entire week, and by that time, you may even have tried all of the eateries!

Vernon Downs and Casino

Located in Vernon, New York, Vernon Downs and Casino is another one of the New York racino type properties. Unlike other properties, the installation of machines did not turn around the financial status of the property even now as its continued operation remains somewhat in doubt. They have had a number of financial difficulties spanning decades and always seem to be just on the cusp of closing.

Of course, these difficulties precede even the machines as attendance numbers for the harness racing component of the properties had been declining for decades and continue to do so. It can fairly be said that the property would definitely have closed without the machines, but even with, this establishment is still on the ropes taking heavy body punches. The property is owned by American Racing and Gaming Entertainment LLC, which is also the owner of the much better performing Tioga Downs and Casino.

As with the Tioga Downs property, as of the time of this writing, the property features what amounts to a $100 loss rebate on its gaming machines for new members. Denominations range from pennies to $5.00 and the property currently operates just over 500 machines, down from its peak of nearly 750 just a few years back.

In addition to the machines, live harness racing is conducted mostly on weekends from April through November whereas simulcasting and wagering is conducted in a spot just off the hotel lobby. Simulcast wagering opens at 11:15a.m. seven days per week.

Dining options include Mr G.’s Food and Spirits, focusing mainly on sandwiches, salads and other American style comfort foods. Triple 777 Cafe features more of the same as well as something of a bar type menu. The property actually features two buffets, the first being Champions Buffet located on the casino floor whilst the second is Gold Cup Buffet with a view of the harness racing during the season. Another racing season eatery is Miracle Mile Restaurant. Finally, Ring Eyed Pete’s Bar features your typical bar menu as well as live entertainment on weekends.

The hotel features more than 100 guestrooms and suites as well as an indoor heated pool with a hot tub. Additionally, there is an arcade and game area. Furthermore, for the kids, there is a bounce house area that is open during racing season. The hotel is also home to a fitness center, provides complementary wireless internet to guests and a free continental breakfast Mondays-Friday. The property does not seem to have a resort fee.

This property seems to be doing everything in its power to offer a great experience, if nothing else, we’re surprised by the number of restaurants given the property’s precarious financial state. As discussed before, this property would almost certainly have already failed if not owned by the same parent company as Tioga Downs. Regional competition is a killer for this property, most notably that of Turning Stone Resort and Casino, a vastly more sizable property with a plethora of different gaming offerings located only minutes away.

Essentially, that makes this something of a niche property that is going to appeal mostly to locals and racing fans as Turning Stone at least doesn’t have a racetrack. With that said, the rooms are more economical than are those at Turning Stone as a result, so it might be worth considering staying at this property to save money if you are intending on visiting the other property. From a pure gambling standpoint, this property is very much NOT a destination unto itself, but it seems to have most anything else a casino stayer could want.

Yellow Brick Road Casino

Yellow Brick Road Casino is located in Chittenango, New York and is another casino property owned by the Oneida Indian Nation. Formally, it is now known as the Yellow Brick Road Casino and Sportsbook.

The casino area is open 24/7 and features more than 400 combined video poker, video keno and slot machines. There is also a table games area with games that include the following: Blackjack, Craps, Let it Ride, 3-Card Poker, Spanish 21, Mississippi Stud and Big Wheel 6. There are 14 gaming tables, but not all these games operate at all times, so we recommend calling ahead for the typical operating hours of your game of choice.

Hours for the Caesars Sports Book are available on their website. The sports book area is an extremely comfortable looking area appointed with overstuffed chairs that resembles something akin to a cigar lounge. There is currently a TopGolf swing suite located within the casino and they are working on a six lane bowling alley as of the time of this writing. The website just says, “Coming soon,” on that with no date specified.

Dining options include Burgers of Madison County, Heart and Courage Saloon and Wicked Good Pizza. The Heart and Courage Saloon also features live entertainment consisting of a musician, karaoke or DJ on most weekends with the schedule of upcoming events available on the appropriate page of their site.

The property is not home to a hotel.

This is mostly a locals place, but we would definitely recommend taking a look at it if you’re in the area. All of the non-gaming aspects of this establishment are more akin to a friendly neighborhood hangout, which must be the vibe they are going for considering the other activities that are there. There’s even a shufflepuck table! The bottom line is that The Yellow Brick Road Casino seems like a fun and friendly laid back place to hang out for gamblers and non-gamblers alike.

Slot Machine Ownership

Slot machines can be purchased and independently owned within the state of New York as long as each machine was created at least 30 years ago.

Conclusion And Prognosis

As mentioned before, New York is one of the most liberal states that there is when it comes to gambling activities. Perhaps the only room for real expansion would be to authorize small commercial parlors, to allow full casino gaming at all of the state’s racino locations and to specifically legalize and regulate online gambling through the state.

Though online gambling has not been legalized and regulated, New York is one of the states in which it is pretty clear that there is no penalty for acting as a mere player and any penalties associated with the conduct of online gambling would be focused on operators.

It remains to be seen whether or not the state will ever regulate full online gambling, but eventually they might decide that there is a financial reason for them to do so. It seems that almost all states become more liberal on regulated gambling activities when they need money.

The racino type locations are locked in what might be an endless back and forth with the state to get full casino gambling through. In the case of many of these locations, such as the struggling Vernon Downs and Casino, they could make a really good case that they need the help in order to compete with the state’s Tribal Casinos.

From what we can tell, there hasn’t been any real discussion of authorizing smaller parlor-type locations with video lottery terminals such as are common in states like Illinois, West Virginia and Montana. A few reasons that this could be is simply that New York State (the owner of most of the racetracks, essentially) might not necessarily want any competition from parlors that might be right down the street from the target customers. In the case of a state such as West Virginia, for example, the state itself doesn’t own any of the gambling properties, so strictly speaking, they have no reason to care what happens to them. If they can’t compete with the parlors and close, then the parlors will just generate the revenue instead.

Also, one thing that is pretty clear if one reads about the history of gaming developments in the State of New York is that a good bit of money has changed hands behind the scenes. For that reason, future developments are similarly likely to be bought and paid for with cash.