New York City will soon be getting its first-ever brick-and-mortar poker room within city limits, PokerNews has learned.
Resorts World New York City, located in Queens near JFK Airport, expanded in April to offer full casino services, including live table games. Now, the casino is continuing to expand and is planning on opening a poker room, which is expected open by the end of the year.
This is a major opening for the entire poker community. New York City, with over 20 million residents, is the largest metro area in the United States.
First Poker Room in New York City
PokerNews visited Resorts World NYC this month and got a look at the live table games area, which is located on the third and top floor of the casino and included games like three card poker, blackjack and baccarat.
When asked for details about the new poker room, table games staff directed PokerNews to the Resorts World Public Relations Department, which did not respond to an email and phone call.
But multiple sources did tell PokerNews that there are indeed plans for a poker room in December. An r/poker subreddit post now claims the room is expected to open Dec. 17.
History of Poker in New York City
Poker players in New York City have always been forced to drive hours to play cards if they desire to play in a traditional casino-based cardroom. That’s been to the benefit of poker rooms such as Borgata and the now-defunct Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, and Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Despite casinos being illegal for years in NYC, the city has long had a booming poker industry. New York City is home to some iconic underground poker clubs, most notably the now-dissolved Mayfair Club where legends such as Stu Ungar, Erik Seidel, and Dan Harrington were members.
The plot to the 1998 film Rounders, considered by many as the top poker movie ever, centered around the main characters — Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) and “Worm” (Ed Norton) — grinding the underground NYC poker games.
Resorts World New York City added table games for the first time in April following legislation that paved way for advanced legal gambling in the city. The resort didn’t initially open a poker room. Eight months later, and that’s about to change.
The redditor who revealed the expected poker room open date, however, also claims the room, to open with 30 tables, will charge 10% rake up to a $10 cap. That’s much higher than standard rake around the U.S., but matches some other major rooms in the Northeast, including Encore Boston Harbor.
Poker players in NYC will have to decide if they’d prefer continuing to drive two hours to Atlantic City for lower rake (Borgata’s $1/$3 game has a 10% rake up to $6, for example), or pay the higher rake and stay home.
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Senior Editor U.S.