More than 1,000 people stood in line, in groups, in the parking lot of the new Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango Tuesday waiting for the area’s newest tourist attraction to officially open its doors.
Driving down Route 5, a flying witch on a broom could be seen circling above the casino, state police directed traffic and classic songs from the movie “The Wizard of Oz” could be heard playing on a loudspeaker.
Some people started lining up at 11 p.m. Monday night in order to be the first ones inside the casino.
“Today marks yet another historic achievement of the Oneida Indian Nation,” said Rick Gallagher, director of entertainment for Turning Stone Casino and now for the Yellow Brick Road Casino, who acted as event emcee.
“This is an important, exciting day,” said Oneida Indian Nation CEO Ray Halbritter. “We’ve invested in our community, right here in Central New York [with a casino] designed to spotlight one of the most iconic stories of American History.”
The Yellow Brick Road Casino, boasting a “Wizard of Oz” theme in honor of Chittenango native, author L. Frank Baum, contains more than 430 Vegas-style cash slot machines, a 500-seat bingo hall, a Keno Lounge, the Oz General Store and an array lineup of bars and restaurants. The casino, owned by the Oneida Indian Nation, is a 67,000-square-foot venue located on Route 5, and cost more than $20 million to create.
The casino created 300 new construction jobs during the four months it was built, and put 250 new, permanent employees to work, according to Chittenango Mayor Ronny Goeler, who also spoke during the event.
“The casino will be a great addition to the region and to the village of Chittenango,” he said.
The Onedia Indian Nation partnered with numerous local businesses, as well as with the village of Chittenango, to expand upon the success of its Turning Stone Casino in Vernon and make Central New York the “top tourist destination in the world,” Halbritter said. “Today, we follow our own yellow brick road and have created our own Emerald City in Central New York.”
After the opening speeches, dignitaries from the Oneida Nation and other involved businesses and community leaders pulled the magic lever for the “Grand Reveal” — an emerald green curtain opened up to uncover the front doors and “Wizard of Oz” costumed characters of Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, the Wicked Witch and the Wizard himself came out and welcomed guests onto the gaming floor amid a hail of green confetti.
The long line of eager visitors took more than 20 minutes to file inside the casino, where they shook hands with Oneida officials, received free T-shirts and beheld a mass of bright lights.
“I love it,” said Sharon Ray, of Memphis, N.Y. “We waited such a long time [in line] we were worried about running out of machines.”
“We hope we win so we’re here all day,” said her friend Liz Field, also of Memphis.
Johnny Young, of Ilion, N.Y., said he waited 90 minutes in line that morning to get inside. “I had to come and see what it looked like,” he said.
“They should have done this 10 years ago,” said Joy Barthelot, of Freemont, N.Y. “I’m a bingo person. Now I can play five minutes from home.”
The Yellow Brick Road Casino, located at 800 Genesee St. in Chittenango, will be open 24 hours daily. For more information, visit YBRCasino.com.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
