Monticello New York lies approximately 90 miles north of New York City.
Located in the Catskill region once called the borscht belt being famous for the Jewish resorts of Grossinger’s, The Nevele, Brown’s, The Fallsview and others.

As times have changed many of these resorts are either gone or have fallen on hard times. As a result the only gambling in the area Monticello Raceway also felt the pinch. In an attempt to save the racetracks, the State of New York allowed several of these facilities, Monticello included to allow gaming.

This past Saturday, my wife and I took a day trip to visit this casino which only opened 2 months ago.
With Labor Day traffic being heavy the trip took us almost 2 hours [ compared to the return trip of an hour and 10 minutes]
The facility itself is quite impressive for a Racino. Unfortunately as with the Saratoga facility I visited a few weeks ago, there are no chips, no tokens and no table games.

Once inside the casino my wife and I signed up for our player cards. Unfortunately they would not give us any extra cards nor would they give us any blanks. We were told that they were prohibited from doing so. Unlike A/C where slot cards could be scooped up with a shovel, in the 7 hours we spent there, not a card was to be found.

As you have guessed by now, the facility consisted of only slot machines or as they refer to them as “ Video Lottery Terminals” The denominations range anywhere from 2 cents to $10. On their brochure they list something which I view sort of strange…. 20 cent machines.

Anyway… I calculated that each comp point took approximately $50.00 thru the machine. Unlike Saratoga, the comp points here could at least be redeemed for either cash, gifts or food.
As an example 60 points would give you a $19.95 Dinner buffet However 50 points would only be reddemable for $5.00 cash so I guess $100 thru the machines would be worth .20 cashback or less than half of what one receives in A/C.

While sitting there, cocktail servers did come by regularly. Unlike Saratoga where they were dressed like waitresses here the actually wore uniforms that one is more used to seeing.
While there still was a charge for drinks, $1.50 per, coffee at least was free.

Food choices within the casino area were limited but adequate. I say limited since there are better choices within the Racetrack area but I assume those are only open during racing.
There is a food court which is similar to the one in Saratoga. The difference here being the food is edible.
You have a choice of a coffee bar which also serves desserts, A deli which makes Hero sandwiches at $6.50 and a Pizza Station which also serves Burgers and Hot Dogs.
Not being very hungry, my wife and I both opted for the Pizza which was surprisingly good. Hot thick and topped with pepperoni 2 slices and 2 Pepsi’s came to $12.54. A bit pricey but when you consider what one most likely spends in these NO arm bandits I can live with it.
As I mentioned, There is also a buffet which we did not go into but advertised it was serving Roast Beef.

An added bonus is that they do provide entertainment in a lounge area which is located on the casino floor adjacent to the bar. Tuesday is Jazz night, Wed is Country night Thursday [ Jon Zanger.. No idea] and on weekends various groups are brought in to entertain in the Lava Lounge.

There is no premium player lounge nor is there a hotel though a Best Western Motel is only a stones throw away

Overall I would say that it was disappointing only from the fact there were no chip, dice or tokens to be had but it was nevertheless a pleasant way to spend the day