Montreign Resort Casino, a $1.2 billion resort under construction in Sullivan County, will rebrand itself as a Resorts World property.
Montreign Operating Co. LLC, a subsidiary of the publicly traded Empire Resorts Inc., announced that it had entered into an agreement to use the Resorts World branding for its newest casino. Montreign Operating Co. will still operate the casino.
Resorts World is a joint venture company of the Malaysian conglomerate Genting Berhad.
The Sullivan County casino, in the town of Thompson, is expected to open March 2018 and include an 18-story hotel, more than 100,000 square feet of casino floor space and 27,000 square feet of multipurpose meeting and entertainment space.
The license agreement grants Montreign rights to use the “Resorts World” and “Genting” branding in casino marketing, sales, management and operations. It also allows the branding to be used at the entertainment village and golf course that subsidiaries of Montreign are developing at the resort property, the company said in the announcement.
The deal, according to an SEC filing by Empire Resorts, runs through 2027. Empire Resorts will pay “a low single-digit percentage of net revenue” to use the brand.
The deal will also allow Empire’s new casino to participate in the Genting Rewards Alliance loyalty program.
The Resorts World brand includes properties in Malaysia, Singapore, the Bahamas, Philippines, England, New York City and another under construction in Las Vegas.
Genting Berhad chairman and CEO Lim Kok Thay also is a beneficiary and controls Kien Huat Realty III Ltd., a majority shareholder in Empire.
“We believe branding our resort casino a Resorts World property will significantly enhance our ability to market the facility and attract visitors, which will provide regional, national and international exposure for Sullivan County and the Catskills region,”™”™ said Emanuel Pearlman, Empire Resort”™s executive chairman of the board.
Empire Resorts is one of three companies in New York authorized in 2014 to build casinos by the New York State Gaming Commission. The company also owns and operates Monticello Casino and Raceway, a 45,000-square-foot video gaming machine and horse racing facility near the casino site.
