Posted on: April 18, 2019, 01:58h. MONTICELLO – Last Wednesday afternoon at Monticello Casino & Raceway, there were probably 50 people inside the gambling hall that has 1,100 video-lottery machines.The empty scene demonstrated why its owner, Empire Resorts, plans to shutter the Sullivan County facility on Tuesday after 15 years in operation, making it the first so-called racino in New York to close since they were approved in 2001.Empire Resorts also owns the $1 billion Resorts World Catskills casino just six miles away, and the company says the two facilities simply couldn't co-exist.There is not enough business that remains at that VLT facility to justify the cost of operating it," Ryan Eller, Empire's president and CEO, said last week.Empire Resorts is vowing to keep open the venerable harness track, which started racing in 1958.But closing the VLT facility is drawing criticism from local officials and customers, who talked about missing the small, family atmosphere at Monticello.Resorts World "will never be like this. CASINO MONTICELLO. "There is not enough business that remains at that VLT facility to justify the cost of operating it," Ryan Eller, Empire's president and CEO, said last week.The closure raises questions about the future of horse racing at Monticello Raceway and whether the VLTs can be relocated to another venue in the region, which Empire Resorts and state lawmakers are considering.Empire Resorts is vowing to keep open the venerable harness track, which started racing in 1958.But closing the VLT facility is drawing criticism from local officials and customers, who talked about missing the small, family atmosphere at Monticello.Resorts World "will never be like this. The gaming floor is now under temporary closure. “When you’re in a big city, there are so many other things to do that casinos are an afterthought,” he said. "I’m in the process of seeing what we can do legislatively to make it better for both parties," Pretlow said Wednesday.The closure is the latest example of the growing saturation of gaming halls in the Northeast after four upstate casinos opened over the past two years, as well as new casinos in neighboring states. Hotel guests with reservations on… Continue Reading Updates "The guardians of racing are the horsemen. "It creates jobs, increases revenue for the state of New York and education, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue with the state, Orange County, Sullivan County and all stakeholders. "When they said they wanted to shut down the machines, I suggested that we, the state, take over those machines and make them part of Catskill OTB. He said he has been coming since it opened. You get to where you know everybody," Hunter Rhinesmith, 77, of New Jersey, who has come to the track since 1959, said as he and his wife left the racino last week.There are also concerns the company ultimately wants to dump racing all together, but Resorts World said it has no plans to do so.