In northern New York, Del Lago Resort and Casino has reportedly asked for official regulator permission to reduce its inventory of slots and gaming tables by some 15% so that it may better concentrate on launching an on-site sportsbook.

High hopes:

According to a report from the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper, the Seneca County venue opened its doors in February of 2017 as the second of the state’s first tranche of four Las Vegas-style commercial casinos. It was purportedly hoped that these properties, which additionally encompass Tioga Downs Casino Resort, Rivers Casino Resort Schenectady and Resorts World Catskills, would help to boost upstate tourism although they have since largely failed to live up to expectations with annual revenues continually coming in below predictions.

Wanting revenues:

This situation was clearly denoted early last year when Del Lago Resort and Casino posted first-year revenues of only $147 million, which was some 44% lower than had been expected, and later unsuccessfully petitioned the state for a better tax deal. This was followed by the signing of an agreement in July that saw the 12,407 sq ft facility agree to open a physical sportsbook in partnership with DraftKings Incorporated.

Analogous requests:

The Democrat and Chronicle reported that the 205-room Del Lago Resort and Casino is required by New York state law to offer a minimum of 1,950 slots alongside 94 gaming tables. However, its most recent request comes after the New York State Gaming Commission gave Tioga Downs Casino Resort permission to reduce its slots portfolio by just over 9% to 892 while a similar shift by Resorts World Catskills saw its offering drop by some 26% to 1,600 machines.

Monday decision:

Steven Greenberg, a spokesperson for Del Lago, told the newspaper that the NY State Gaming Commission is still to finalize its regulations on sportsbetting but will most likely consider his venue’s latest petition on Monday.

Greenberg stated…

“Del Lago Resort and Casino looks forward to working with our DraftKings [Incorporated] partner to offer sports gaming to our customers. In order to accomplish this, we are seeking to reduce to 1,650 slots and 66 table games. Once construction is complete we will likely increase again.”