Daily News
Here is an item that got cut for space from today’s “Albany Insider” column:
The operators of the state’s nine race-track virtual casinos will unveil Monday a statewide ad campaign in hopes of boosting their chances of upgrading to full-blown gambling halls with table games.
The quarter-million dollar New York Gaming Association radio and web campaign touts the success of the racinos and how millions of their profits go to help fund New York schools.
“Racetrack casinos are a big win for New York schools..and that’s a big win for all of us,” the ad says.
Gov. Cuomo is asking the Legislature this year to send a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing up to seven full-blown casinos across the state for public referendum. Racino owners say they are the natural locations while Cuomo says the market should determine who gets the franchises and where they’re located.
The Daily News reported Saturday that booming business at the Aqueduct racetrack racino helped push total state lottery sales up 12% in 2012, the Daily News has learned.
In its first full year of operation, the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct generated a hefty $667.7 million in net sales, according to stats the state lottery provided.
Aqueduct’s take was more than 37% of the $1.8 billion in total net combined revenue generated by the nine racetrack virtual casinos statewide.
Here is the full transcript:
NYGA
:60 Radio
“Today’s Lesson”
(Upbeat music under or school bell, or both.)
VO: (friendly, approachable female) Okay, class. Ready for a quick math quiz? What do you get when you add one billion dollars a year to New York’s education budget?
You get enough funding to hire 13,000 teachers across the state, without raising property taxes a single penny.
NYC ALT: You get enough funding to hire 13,000 teachers across the state, so all our kids can succeed.
Now for a history lesson: New York’s nine racetrack casinos have been providing reliable funding for New York schools for years and this commitment to our children’s education will continue for many more years to come.
Let’s move on to economics: New York’s racetrack casinos provide good paying jobs to almost 6,000 New Yorkers and support another 33,000 people with jobs in agribusiness who also depend on racetrack casinos.
Okay, now for a quick review: Racetrack casinos are a big win for New York schools…. And that’s a big win for all of us. Class dismissed.
VO: Paid for by the New York Gaming Association.