New York Post
It’s a win-win at the Big A!
The Aqueduct racino provides the biggest bang for bettors’ bucks — by paying out more in winnings than any other racino in the state, The Post has learned.
Aqueduct Resorts World also is the taxpayers’ biggest friend — it’s the state’s biggest tax-revenue producer of its nine racinos, despite its higher payout rate to players.
Financial reports filed with the state Lottery Division reveal that Aqueduct Resorts World returns about 94 percent of its gambling machine revenues to its bettors.
From April through mid-June of this year, bettors put just over $3.178 billion into the machines — and the racino returned $3 billion to winners.
It collected the remaining $178 million, about 6 percent.
Nearly 60 percent of that is returned to the state to aid education and the racing industry.
The other eight racinos in New York give back on average 91 or 92 percent to gamblers, records show.
For example, $1.827 billion in bets were recorded over the same period at Yonkers Raceway’s Empire City Casino. Of that amount, $1.676 billion, or nearly 92 percent, was paid out in winnings.
Yonkers collected the remaining $150 million, or nearly 8 percent, and gives a large chunk of that to the state.
There is an explanation for the difference.
Aqueduct offers more electronic table games than the other track casinos — 591 seats for baccarat, sic bo and roulette.
Yonkers has 148 table-game seats, and the upstate racinos have fewer.
Many high rollers tend to play the table games, which typically require $5 or $10 per bet.
And as many as 20 people can bet on the same games, which have been a big hit at the Big A.
By comparison, gamblers fork over much less per bet on slot machines, as little as one penny.
The rewards are bigger for the table games. According to the Lottery Division, which regulates the racinos and sets the rates, electronic table games pay out 97 percent of betting revenues generated, compared with 91 percent for penny slots.