Resorts World Catskills Casino Opens In Sullivan County

MONTICELLO, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Catskills casino promoted as an economic boost to an old resort area has opened in an increasingly competitive regional market.

Resorts World Catskills debuted weeks ahead of schedule Thursday in the heart of the old "Borscht Belt.'' It will feature more than 150 table games and 2,150 slot machines about 80 miles northwest of New York City.

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo was expected to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The $1.2 billion resort complex will feature an 18-story hotel, a golf course and the fourth of four Las Vegas-style upstate casinos opening under a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution.

The project created about 2,200 jobs.

Locals hoping to revive the region have been trying to lure a casino for decades. And Resorts World is expected to draw gamblers from the lucrative metropolitan-area market.

But it opens amid signs that the increasing number of casinos are eating into each other's business.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)