“I think we’re gonna feel a little punch,” said Bill Rieber, supervisor of Thompson, the 16,700-person town where Resorts World is located. Resorts World Catskills did not respond to a detailed list of questions. Sullivan County treasurer Nancy Buck said it’s a “huge concern” for the county.
New York Focus spoke with four employees at Resorts World Catskills, all of whom said there has been talk among staff about how the New York City casinos could impact their jobs. The busloads will dwindle, and the benefits the community was promised, they fear, will go with them. Now, as New York prepares to license up to three more casinos in the New York City area, locals worry that the already underperforming resort will lose customers. The casino has generated just half the tax revenue that had initially been projected, but it has attracted tourists and boosted the local economy. It opened in February 2018, and today it provides around 1,400 union jobs. Resorts World Catskills, one of the four casinos New York approved by constitutional amendment in 2013, was touted as an economic development effort that would create jobs and generate revenue for upstate communities through taxes and tourism.
