Empire Resorts shuts down Monticello racino

The Monticello Raceway in New York has shut down its electronic gaming racino. The move comes as the venue’s parent company, Empire Resorts, wants to put all its efforts into the Resorts World Catskills (RWC), which opened about a year ago. The raceway at Monticello will remain open—at least for now.

Empire doesn’t anticipate having to close the entire venue, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first time a company has changed its mind. According to Empire CEO Ryan Eller, “We’re eager to explore various options to preserve the Monticello Raceway operations, and relocating the raceway video-gaming machines to Orange County would definitely go a long way to that goal.”

The video lottery terminal (VLT) business at Monticello has fallen substantially, while Resorts World continues to see an increase in all of its businesses. Eller adds, “There is not enough business that remains at that VLT facility to justify the cost of operating it.”

Up to 160 employees are affected by the closure, but Empire has said that it will help as many as possible find positions at RWC. Fortunately, the two venues are only about 10 minutes apart.