Point Place New York Casino will open in less than two months

On Wednesday, the Oneida Nation released the opening date for the 65,000-square-foot facility in the town of Bridgeport, which will open its doors on Thursday, March 1. Point Place Casino, which will be the third casino operated by the Oneidas, will open 10 months after construction began on the $40 million project and create more than 250 trade jobs.

Point Place Casino is the third casino after Turning Stone Resort Casino, Oneida's largest gaming facility -in Oneida County- and "The Wizard of Oz"-themed Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango.

The casino will feature nearly 500 slot machines and 20 table games. There will be two restaurants: The Burgers of Madison County, which will serve burgers, milkshakes and other food, and Wicked Good Pizza, a pizza shop that also has locations at Turning Stone and Yellow Brick Road Casino.

Point Place will have two bars, The Fireside Lounge and Paddle Bar, and Opals Confectionery, a bakery and chocolate shop.

The Oneidas said Point Place will create more than 200 permanent jobs. A job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15 in the plaza at the intersection of Routes 298 and 31. The casino is looking to fill various positions, including bartenders, cooks, security officers and table game dealers.

The opening of Point Place will come 13 months after del Lago Resort & Casino commenced operations in Seneca County. Del Lago, a non-Indian casino, is one of four projects awarded gaming licenses by the state.

Tioga Downs Casino Resort in Tioga County also received a license. The expanded casino at Tioga Downs opened in December 2016.

After the state allowed non-Indian casinos to operate in New York, the Oneidas began to expand its gaming offerings within its exclusive zone. The territory, a 10-county area which includes Cayuga and Onondaga counties, is one provision in an agreement between the state and Oneidas. The deal prevents non-Indian casinos from being built within the Oneidas' exclusive zone.

In 2015, the Oneidas opened Yellow Brick Road Casino. And after del Lago Resort Casino opened in February 2017, the tribe announced plans to open Point Place Casino near the Onondaga County border.

Point Place Casino will be one hour away from del Lago Resort & Casino.

"We are thrilled to announce this new investment in central New York, and are confident it will continue the success we have had in working hand-in-hand with the local community to create good jobs and generate public revenues," Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter said in April 2017.