SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) — It’s not just the businesses that feel the effects from Rivers Casino.
Well, we know about the casino in Schenectady, but what about the one here in Saratoga? Have they felt any effects since it’s opened?
Linda Durocher and her mom, Shirley, can’t get enough of it here.
“Mom and I come here maybe 4 or 5 times a month, or more,” Linda Durocher said.
It’s a time to bond, and hey, maybe even win it big.
“Once in a great while, I win a thousand or something like that,” Shirley Durocher said.
The Watervliet residents may frequent it here in Saratoga, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t paying attention last week when Rivers Casino in Schenectady opened their doors.
“Absolutely, we were there on the first night,” Linda Durocher said.
They love Saratoga, but they’re happy to have even more options now.
That’s the trend Saratoga Gaming’s General Manager, Tom Weidmayer, says they’ve planned for all along. Patrons here are checking things out over there.
“You know, I’m sure we will feel some impact,” Weidmayer said. “We’ve anticipated that there will be.”
He says it’s too early to tell what the major impact will be, but believes there can be long-term success for both venues.
“When we think about what the market could be and we share in that market with the Rivers property, I think there is plenty of business for everybody to go around,” Weidmayer said.
Take someone like Sabrina Fleming for example.
“Valentine’s day, just came out,” Fleming said.
She’s from Vermont, and came here to visit Saratoga.
With the addition of the casino in Schenectady now, it only makes this area more attractive for tourists like her.
“I like the place,” Fleming said. “We stay here overnight when we come. The motel is nice.”
And for Shirley here, it means another place to cash-in on having fun with her family.
“My daughters, they all take me,” Shirley Durocher said. “I said I’m going to go as many times as I can.”
In the end, you can increase your odds and come to a place you’re used to or roll the dice and go somewhere new. Either way, people say they are happy to see things blooming in the Capital Region.