Of course, everyone knows that the top US gambling meccas are Las Vegas and Atlantic City, followed by Reno, St. Louis, and Detroit.
New York state may be famous as the home to America’s most economically essential hub and the home of various breathtaking sights such as Niagara Falls and Adirondack Park. However, gambling is not among the first things that pop to mind when someone mentions the Empire State. Conversely, it is among the first associations people make with New York’s sister state, New Jersey, the USA online gambling sector’s trailblazer.
Still, New York State is not casino-free. On the contrary. While it may not yet allow casino online USA sites to get operated within its borders, there are twelve commercial land-based casinos and ‘racinos’ on its soil that the NYC Gaming Commission regulates and twelve tribal ones. Gaming activities in the latter properties get overseen by each tribe’s independent tribal commission.
The up-to-date list of venues offering casino games in NY features:
- Akwesasne Mohawk Casino
- Batavia Downs Casino
- Del Lago Resort and Casino
- Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway
- The Fairgrounds Gaming
- Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino
- Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track
- Lakeside Entertainment
- Mohawk Bingo Palace and Casino
- Point Place Casino
- Resorts World New York City
- Resorts World Catskills
- Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady
- Saratoga Casino and Raceway
- Seneca Allegany Casino Salamanca
- Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino
- Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Oil Spring
- Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Salamanca
- Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Irving
- Seneca Niagara Casino
- Tioga Downs & Casino
- Turning Stone Resort & Casino
- Vernon Downs & Casino
- Yellow Brick Road Casino
Here’s a rundown of the top five best New York casinos, according to online player reviews. These are the spots that most NY gambling fanatics recommend locals and tourists visit when looking for gaming fun.
Note that online real money casinos are not yet legal in New York, but mobile sports betting for New Yorkers became a reality in January 2022.
The Turning Stone Resort was the only “real” casino in NY until 2002.
1) Turning Stone Resort Casino
Located at 5218 Patrick Road in Verona, Turning Stone Resort & Casino is a Native American gaming establishment that opened its doors in 1993. It takes up the number one spot on our list because, for a decade, it acted as the only real casino in the Empire State. Thus, it is a site of some historical significance.
Turning Stone boasts a gaming floor that stretches 120,000 square feet, hosting 80 table games, 32 poker ones, and a collection of more than 2,000 reel-spinners. The Oneida Indian Nation of New York operates this spot that offers a premium PGA Tour-quality golf course, multiple restaurants, an amusement arcade, and an RV park.
Adjacent to exit 33 of the New York State Thruway, the Turning Stone Resort has maintained the status of a premium central New York tourist destination. Its hotel has over seven hundred guest rooms, and the resort’s Tower is a triple-A, Four Diamond lodging venue with two hundred and sixty rooms, plus twenty-eight suites.
2) Resorts World Catskills
Found at 888 Resorts World Drive in Monticello, around ninety miles from New York City, Resorts World Catskill is a Genting Group-run casino. It got up and running in 2018, offering a five-star, five-diamond hotel with 322 suites and a 2,000-square feet penthouse.
The gaming area at the Catskills sprawls over 100,000 square feet, boasting 1,600 gaming machines, 150 dealer tables, and twenty poker ones. There is even a VIP section on the casino floor reserved for fans of high-limit action and a full-service retail sportsbook.
Many rank this casino resort as one of the top ones in the state, mainly because of its selection of state-of-the-art slot machines. Also, thousands of card fanatics use it as their preferred poker home, enjoying $3-$6 action for limit games here, and $1-$ for no-limit ones.
The Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino
is home to a legendary century-old racetrack.
3) Empire City Casino
Better known under its full name, the Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, this property gets considered a city landmark in Yonkers. Operated by MGM Resorts International, which purchased it from the Rooney family in 2019, this location is mainly renowned for its one-half-mile standardbred harness racing track. Nevertheless, the complex’s 150,000 square foot gaming floor is nothing to scoff at, housing more than 4,600 games, including progressive titles, video poker devices, and keno games. Most of these accept bet sizes that range from 1 cent to $100.
Accessible just off the 87 Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, Empire City Casino also has an online iteration that offers a decent welcome casino bonus and various other promos. Many prefer to play at this website because this is currently a video lottery terminal venue, meaning it has no traditional slot machines.
4) Resorts World Casino
Part of the Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, Genting’s Resorts World Casino technically can get classified as a New York City gambling property, found at 110-00 Rockaway Boulevard. Its gaming hours are from 10 AM to 4 AM, allowing patrons to enjoy over 6,500 video lottery terminals and electronic devices on its 175,000-square-foot casino floor.
Per the Genting Group, ten million people visit this resort annually, and this property has generated an unparalleled $3 billion for New York’s education system.
Aside from casino jackpot fun, people flock to Resorts World Casino New York City to take in some fine dining at the RW Prime Steakhouse and grab delicious desserts at the Sugar Factory. Furthermore, many visit it to watch sports games with friends at the spot’s famous Bar 360, which has multiple 28’ x 16’ screens that show PPVs and various other sporting events.
The Rivers Resort in Schenectady is Rush Street’s only NY gambling venue.
5) Rivers Casino & Resorts
Rivers Casino & Resort is the top gambling facility in Schenectady, open 24/7, featuring games akin to the one’s house by the sites listed on our casino review page. Rush Street Gaming operates this venue, a company with gaming establishments in Des Plaines, Illinois, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
There is a sportsbook inside this resort, a poker room open from 10 AM to 2 AM, hundreds of slot machines, table games, eight different video poker devices, and twenty keno ones. The casino enables cashless wagering, facilitating the option for guests to pull funds from the enabled customer accounts. Rivers Casinos also provides guests with a history of their gaming activity on this property.
Going by the locale’s official statistics, the gambling section here is around 50,000 square feet, and there are fifteen tables reserved for poker action here. The Rivers complex in Schenectady also has a 163-room hotel.
