Empire Resorts Appoints Joseph E. Bernstein to Lead the Company Through Restructuring and Expansion

MONTICELLO, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--
Empire Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: NYNY) announced today that its Board of Directors
has appointed Joseph E. Bernstein as the Company`s Chief Executive Officer. The
appointment is effective immediately and runs through an initial term ending
December 31, 2009, subject to an automatic one year renewal upon the completion
of certain conditions.

Mr. Bernstein will lead the Company through its current restructuring phase and
will implement a range of gaming strategies in the Catskills, including
repositioning and improving the Monticello Casino and Raceway and pursuing the
development of a Native American casino adjoining the Raceway. Additionally,
under his direction, the Company will pursue the prospect of legalization of
gaming in Sullivan County, and future development of the Company`s 230 acres at
the Raceway. Mr. Bernstein is a former Director who recently became active in
reformulating the Company`s long term goals and management strategy.

Empire Resorts Director Louis R. Cappelli commented, "I am confident that Joe
Bernstein, with his strong financial and legal expertise, vast development
experience and specific experience with the Company, is a brilliant choice to
lead a new management team and boldly take Empire Resorts to the next level."

Mr. Bernstein, a litigation attorney and real estate developer, co-founded
Catskill Development LLC in 1995 to acquire the 230-acre Monticello Raceway and
obtain a key federal approval that would allow a Native American Tribe to build
a $600,000,000 Class III casino project. This approval was only one of three
granted since 1988. Empire Resorts subsequently acquired the Raceway from
Catskill Development in 2004 and continued to develop the casino project from
2005 to 2008, when it was derailed by an abrupt change of national policy for
off-reservation gaming by the Bush Administration. The prospect of a withdrawal
of that policy is currently under review by the Obama Administration and has the
full support of Governor David Patterson, New York`s two senators, congressional
leaders and local communities in Sullivan County.

Along with his brother, Ralph Bernstein, a director and shareholder in the
Company, Mr. Bernstein is a Founder and Managing Director of Americas Partners,
a private real estate group. The Bernstein brothers founded the Americas
Partners group of companies in 1981, and have since been involved in over $1
billion of property acquisitions and development in New York City. The Company's
three million square feet of Manhattan office and retail projects have included
Americas Tower, the 50-story office tower at 1177 Avenue of the Americas, with
one million square feet, that serves as world headquarters to
PriceWaterhouseCoopers; The Crown Building, a 26-story tower located at the
corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street; 40 Wall Street, a 70-story office tower;
and Herald Center, a vertical retail center at Broadway and 34th Street. The
brothers were also instrumental in nurturing the early growth and subsequent
turnaround of the air medical operations of Air Methods Corporation (NASDAQ:
AIRM), which has grown from a fleet of 25 to over 300 helicopters since 1993,
and today has $500,000,000 in annual revenue.

Empire Resorts Lead Director James Simon concluded, "Progress has already been
made by the Company as we have rapidly improved cash flow, cut expenses and
enhanced productivity, but it is imperative that we have a strong leader like
Joe Bernstein who will aggressively pursue initiatives to address the Company`s
long-term future."

About Empire Resorts

Empire Resorts owns and operates Monticello Casino & Raceway, a harness racing
facility in Sullivan County with over 1,500 video gaming machines, as well as
dining and other amenities. Empire Resorts is involved with Concord Associates,
LLC in the proposed Concord Hotel & Resort, planned as a major gaming and
destination resort in the Catskills. www.empireresorts.com

Statements in this press release regarding the company's business that are not
historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and
uncertainties, including the need for regulatory and contractual approvals,
financing and successful completion of construction. The company wishes to
caution readers not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements,
which statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1994, and as such, speak only as of the date made. To the extent the
content of this press release includes forward-looking statements, they involve
various risks and uncertainties including (i) the risk that the Company`s
agreement with Concord Associates is not closed; (ii) the risk that financing
necessary for the proposed project may not be able to be obtained because of
credit factors, market conditions or other contingencies, (iii) the risk that
regulatory or contractual approvals are not obtained, (iv) the risk of
non-compliance by various counterparties of the related agreements, and (iv)
general risks affecting the company as described from time to time in it's
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For a full discussion
of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the
company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

Empire Resorts:
Charles A. Degliomini, 845-807-0001
Senior VP, Communications & Government Relations
or
Investor:
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Jody Burfening, 212-838-3777
jburfening@lhai.com

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