New York's Casino Map in 2026 — Catskills, Tioga, and the NYC License Race

New York has four upstate commercial casinos and is in the middle of awarding three downstate licenses near NYC. Here's the 2026 state of play.

In 60 seconds

New York's commercial casinos: Resorts World Catskills (Monticello), Rivers Casino Schenectady, del Lago Resort & Casino (Waterloo, near Finger Lakes), Tioga Downs (Nichols, Southern Tier). Plus tribal Class III: Turning Stone, Yellow Brick Road, Point Place, Akwesasne Mohawk, Seneca Niagara/Allegany/Buffalo Creek. Three downstate full-license slots are being awarded — Resorts World NYC, Empire City Yonkers, and a third TBD.

01

Resorts World Catskills — the closest to NYC

Monticello, NY — 90 minutes from Manhattan. Genting-built integrated resort opened 2018. Hotel tower, full table game menu, full slot floor, monorail to the adjacent Resorts World Hudson Valley (formerly Monticello). Closest commercial mega-casino to New York City — until the downstate licenses come online.

02

Rivers Casino Schenectady

In Schenectady, on the Mohawk River. Mid-sized integrated resort, opened 2017. Decent dining, full poker room, ~1,000 slots. Convenient if you're in the Albany area.

03

del Lago — Finger Lakes destination

In Waterloo, near Seneca Lake. Combined casino + Finger Lakes wine country day-trip. Mid-sized property.

04

Tioga Downs — the Southern Tier

In Nichols, near Binghamton. Smaller of the four commercial casinos but well-run.

05

Tribal casinos — the Seneca and Oneida options

Seneca Niagara, Seneca Allegany, Seneca Buffalo Creek — three Seneca Nation properties in western NY. Niagara Falls' US-side casino is the headline; the city itself is a nice combo trip with Canadian-side falls. Turning Stone (Verona, NY) — Oneida Nation's flagship. Big resort property; multiple golf courses; well-regarded.
06

The NYC license race

Three full-license slots are being awarded for downstate (NYC metro). Bidders include:

  • Resorts World NYC (Genting, expanding the existing Aqueduct Racino)
  • Empire City Casino Yonkers (MGM)
  • Hudson Yards (related-party with major NY developers)
  • Coney Island, Times Square (Caesars), Citi Field area

The licenses unlock full table games (currently only slots/electronic at Resorts World NYC and Empire City). When awarded, they'll instantly become the closest "real" casinos to Manhattan.

07

What we'd do today

For NYC-based weekend casino: Resorts World Catskills until downstate licenses come online.

For destination weekend: Turning Stone for golf + casino, Seneca Niagara for falls + casino.

Last updated August 19, 2026

Topics

  • new-york
  • nyc
  • catskills

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