Resorts World Hudson Valley Casino opens inside mall in Orange County
NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- The first casino inside a New York shopping mall opened on Wednesday in Orange County.
While retail malls continue to struggle, the city of Newburgh hopes the new 60,000 square-foot facility will revitalize the mall, attracting more customers and, hopefully, new businesses.
Walking through Newburgh Mall, you'll find popular retailers like Bath & Body Works right next to empty storefronts. But there's now a new eye-catching attraction inside -- Resorts World Hudson Valley Casino.
READ MORE: New York's first casino in a shopping mall set to open in Newburgh
It is giving those who live both near and far something exciting to do inside a mall that has been around since 1980.
"It's closer than me going an hour away to the big casino in the mountain. Also, I know it's going to help the city of Newburgh," said Brenda Hush of New Paltz.
"I think it's going to bring a lot of life to the neighborhood. We didn't have a lot to do and then now we have something to do, so it should attract a lot of tourists to the area and whatnot," Newburgh resident Sean Simms added.
Many people will show up hoping to cash out, although some of the employees CBS2 spoke to said they've already won big with this new opportunity.
"Personally, I was working three jobs and I was commuting an hour to my jobs and I live locally, so this helped me a lot to be home near my house and my child, too," Renee Goldman said.
And clearly there's excitement from the community as hundreds waited in line early Wednesday morning to be the first ones inside, where there are more than 1,200 slot machines and electronic game tables, as well as two bars.
"I grew up in Orange County and have been around the Newburgh Mall for the last number of decades, and I've never seen the mall this crowded, so it was just so wonderful," said Meghan Taylor, VP of public relations for Resorts World New York.
Those behind the $50 million project said they've already filled 250 jobs, giving preference to local residents, and hope the casino will help put Newburgh on the map.
"We believe that with the increased foot traffic that the casino is going to bring, we'll be able to, or, really, the mall ownership will be be able to attract new tenants, so whether that's restaurateurs or bars or other entertainment-type destinations, or retailers," Taylor said.
"Hopefully, it will help this mall come back to life again," Hush said.