By: Millicent Juarez
Gambling in the Catskills was supposed to be a sure thing. It wasn’t.
Resorts World Catskills, about 85 miles from New York City, “has lost money every quarter since it opened in February 2018, dragged into the red by a combination of underwhelming attendance and nine-figure loans,” the New York Times recently chronicled. “Last month, the largest stockholder of Empire Resorts, the company that operates the casino, argued that it should go private because it no longer believed it had “any reasonable prospect for becoming financially self-sustaining in the future.”
Indeed, the company lost $36 million for the second quarter of 2019; in the first quarter, it had lost $37 million, according to papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But the prospects had been so bright. Resorts World Catskills is owned and operated by Montreign Operating Company, LLC, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Resorts, Inc., a gaming and entertainment corporation which has operated in the Catskills since 1993.
As the company points out on its web site, the resort
offers guests “unmatched experiences in excitement, entertainment, and luxury. The integrated casino resort, which received LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, includes an 18-story all-suite hotel and a casino and entertainment complex featuring 100,000 square feet of gaming action including 150 live Las-Vegas style table games, 1,600 state-of-the art slot machines, a poker room and private gaming salons.”
It also offers more than 10 varied bar and restaurant experiences, which includes Cellaio Steak, an Italian steakhouse created by celebrity chef Scott Conant, and year-round live entertainment at the 2,500-seat RW Epicenter, casino bars and lounges. The hotel features 332 luxury suites, including 27 premium accommodations consisting of garden suites, penthouse suites and two-story villas. Additional hotel amenities include the Crystal Life Spa, two indoor pools, business center and two fitness centers.
The SEC filing, according to newyorkupstate.com, “suggests the casino could seek new loans or reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But it also addresses a scenario in which the major shareholder of Empire Resorts and Resorts World Catskills — Malaysia-based real estate investment company Kien Huat and its affiliates — could buy up outstanding shares and take the casino private.”
As the site reported, Kien Huat, the investment arm of Malaysian casino magnate K.T. Lim and his global gaming company, Genting Malaysia, “sent a letter to Empire Resorts shareholders in July “in which it said it did not plan to continue to lend money to the struggling casino if it remains public, according to the SEC filing. It proposed buying out other shareholders.”
