New York Senator Addabbo: “The City’s Casinos Are Job Feeders First, But It’s About Creating Careers In the Long Run”

“When I initially started working on the downstate casino licenses, I was thinking about job creation,” said New York State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., Chairman of the state’s Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. “But I evolved throughout the process. Now I understand that institutions like Kingsborough are doing with Resorts World something bigger in this city. They are providing locals with careers and opportunities for upward mobility,” the senator told casino.com.

New Tourist Hubs Outside of Manhattan

In December 2025, the New York Gaming Commission awarded three licenses to operate Las Vegas-style resort casinos in three sites far from Manhattan’s tourist hub: A Bronx Golf Course once operated by President Donald Trump, the New York Mets’ Citi Field in Jamaica, Queens; and the Aqueduct Race Track, which is part of Resorts World New York City (RWNYC), located in Ozone Park, Queens.

Training the People that Will Make it Happen

Senator Addabbo, who sponsored several legislative pushes to bring commercial casinos to Downstate and the New York City area, says the three casinos will create over 10,000 jobs. “Like any other large hospitality business, full-scale casino resorts need skilled maintenance workers, cooks, bakers, hotel employees, restaurant supervisors, banquet workers, housekeepers, event personnel, security staff and guest-service professionals,” Addabbo told us. “With around 5,000 post-construction jobs added to the market in the next few years, training provided by institutions like Kingsborough Community College is crucial for local people to be ready to capitalize on these career opportunities.”

A Debut Graduation

On February 28, 2026, a group of New Yorkers completed an unusual course of study that offered a glimpse into the city’s changing hospitality economy. Since it started, the program has trained more than 350 local residents in gaming operations, with participants receiving foundational training and acquiring skills ranging across casino floor operations, hospitality, and customer service.

Launched in 2022 by RWNYC in association with York College, a four-year college that is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, the program was designed to train graduates for careers in the gaming and hospitality industry, while paving the way to good-paying jobs for the local workforce.

In December 2025, an agreement was finalized with Kingsborough Community College (KCC), which is also part of the CUNY fold, leading to the launch of the first KCC cohort of the course on February 3, 2026.

Dr. Simone Rodriguez, VP of Workforce Development and Continuing Education, the Kingsborough division leading the initiative, told casino.com that this is an exciting time to run the course, as the city’s gaming and hospitality sectors are growing rapidly and Resorts’ expansion has a positive impact on job creation in the local community.

Photo by: Ziv Chen

The City’s First Full Gaming Floor

The February graduating class completed the program just two months before Resorts World launched its full-fledged casino floor on April 28, 2026, including, in addition to slot machines, live dealer tables of blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette.

RWNYC began orientation sessions for 1,250 new employees in early April. When live table games opened, the property employed approximately 2,200 people, with another 500 expected to be added by early summer.

On July 22, 2026, elected officials and company bosses broke ground on Phase Two of the $5.5 billion project. According to the company, the project is expected to create 10,000 jobs, including approximately 5,000 union construction positions, when completed in 2031.

Kingsborough College Plays a Pivotal Role in Workforce Development

For Brooklyn-based Kingsborough Community College, the opportunities to develop the local workforce extend far beyond teaching students how to operate a blackjack, baccarat or roulette table. While the arrival of casinos boosted demand for a skilled workforce, the college has been offering a robust curriculum of hospitality and culinary education and training programs for decades.

Founded in 1963, KCC boasts a diverse student body, with around half of students balancing work alongside their studies and roughly one in five supporting children. Around 30% of its students are enrolled in career-focused programs, including tourism and hospitality and culinary arts.

From Workforce Development to Hospitality Degree Programs

In addition to non-academic workforce development and education programs, Kingsborough Community College offers Associate of Science (AS) and Associate of Arts (AA) degrees with concentrations in hotel management, tourism, culinary and food-and-beverage management.

Throughout their 60-credit curriculum, KCC students develop an understanding of how different parts of the hospitality industry work in tandem. They study customer service, operations, marketing and management while gaining experience with industry-standard systems used by employers throughout the sector.

For example, Hotel management students train on the Opera Property Management System, a software widely used to manage reservations, guest records and daily hotel operations. Likewise, tourism students gain experience with the Sabre global distribution system used throughout the travel industry.

Compiled with coursework in visitor services, destination marketing and reservations, these technical skills give graduates an invaluable insight into the internal operations of hotels, tourism businesses and integrated resorts.

Culinary Training for Large-Scale Hospitality

Kingsborough's Culinary Arts program is another key part of the college's workforce offering. Students can pursue either a two-year associate degree or a one-year certificate, with courses in culinary arts and in baking and pastry.

The emphasis in these programs is placed on practical learning. Students undertake more than 600 hours of kitchen training alongside an industry internship, developing experience in food preparation, sanitation, catering, quantity production and restaurant management.

Alongside hands-on training, the curriculum includes menu planning, food costing and kitchen operations; lesser-known skills that are nonetheless essential for managing high-volume food service.

As Resorts World New York City’s planned expansion includes more than 30 food and beverage outlets, such skills will be pivotal in enabling graduates to deliver consistent service while managing staffing, inventory and operational standards across multiple venues.

Building the Workforce Behind the Resort

While the sprawling spires of hotel towers and gaming floors will become the most visible elements of New York City's casino expansion, the industry's long-term success will depend on having a skilled workforce to support the entire hospitality ecosystem on which these resorts operate. And Kingsborough Community College is busy building it.