23 Jun

NY’er Sounds Off against Resorts World, calls Slot Machines a “Ripoff”

For nearly five years, Resorts World Casino has been operating at Ozone Park’s Aqueduct Racetrack, just south of Queens, New York. It’s been a popular gambling destination for locals and tourists alike, hosting more than 5,000 video lottery terminals (similar to slot machines) and a plethora of table games. But not everyone is keen on the New York casino‘s management and fundamentals.

A long-time New Yorker, Gerry Reiss, wrote in to the NY Daily News with a highly opinionated verbalization of what he called “contempt” for the casino’s customers by its owners, and explained why he thinks the operation is unfit for licensure by the state.

“Resorts World Casino in Queens is a multibillion-dollar operation, yet has no email address nor any readily available contact number on its website,” wrote the irate gambler. “The contempt the Genting Group has for its customers makes it extremely difficult to contact this Malaysian-owned business that somehow, after Gov. Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign, got a second chance to bid on its casino permit.”

 

Oops! Contact Information Found

As for the allegations that Resorts World Casino does not provide an email address on its website, that’s not actually true. While there is no traditionalContact” link provided on the site’s primary link menu, the “About Us” page does provide a list of contact information, including a toll-free telephone number [1 (888) 888-8801] and email address [info@rwnewyork.com] for Customer Service.

As a point of reference, I was able to find this information within moments by performing the following search on Google.com:

Google Results for Contact Info on Resorts World NY Website

But that was only the tip of the iceberg for Reiss. His vehemence went well beyond an arguable lack of customer support and derision for the New York casino’s foreign operations.

New York Casino Lacks Dining Options

“Things are so bad now that management removed all the napkins from the food court, which on Monday night had only two restaurants open,” he said, having ostensibly visited Resorts World just prior to his op-ed submission. “The buffet restaurant long ago closed, shut down a month after the restaurant workers voted to unionize.”

Whether management actually moved to eliminate the napkins, or the Food Court simply ran out due to lax observance on the maintenance team’s part, is unclear. However,  there’s no denying Reiss has his facts straight on the minimal availability of restaurants at Resorts World New York.

Being such a massive casino resort, its rather appalling that the facility features just two dining options – the Food Court he spoke of, which features just 6 economically friendly restaurants, and RW PRIME, a pricey steakhouse that’s only open Wednesday thru Sunday, and only then during dinner hours.

Malaysian Prime Minister Scandal Involved?

“Then again, Malaysia is roiled by the 1Malaysian Development Berhad scandal, in which the prime minister somehow suddenly has over $700 million in a bank account he controls,” Reiss continued, bringing a political scandal from the other side of the globe into the matter.

“How Resorts World got its casino gaming license, complete with permission to operate Class II slot machines — ripoff slots without a random number generator — is a scandal far worse than a few police commanders getting some freebies from a real estate developer.”

The Malaysian Prime Minister’s alleged underhanded financial affairs have little to do with whether a casino, that just happens to be owned by a Malaysian-based Genting Group, are worthy of a gaming license in the US. However, his comments regarding “ripoff slots without a number generator” are worth reviewing.

Resorts World Hosts VLTs, Not Slot Machines

VLT Slots at New York Casino Resorts WorldBy New York law, casinos are only able to install Video Lottery Terminals, or VLTs. While these look and feel like traditional Class III slot machines found in Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos, they are the Class II variety, and – as Reiss pointed out – do not un on a random number generator (RNG). 

Class III slots use RNGs to produce a series of random numbers that tell the machine where the reels should stop. In this way, the outcome of each spin is determined as it’s happening. However, over the long term, the machine will pay out its pre-destined payout ratio.

VLTs, on the other hand, are more akin to scratch-off lottery tickets. Whether the next spin is destined to win or lose is already pre-determined before the player spins the reels, taking away all randomness. But like traditional slot machines, VLTs still pay out a preset percentage of all wagers – in New York’s case, a minimum 90% payout percentage on VLTs – so the outward experience is essentially the same for players.