x
Breaking News
More () »

NY just had a record year for its lottery

Revenue from the state Lottery and its nine racetracks with video-lottery terminals grew nearly 5 percent between 2015 and 2016, state records show.

ALBANY -- New York already had the largest lottery in the nation. And it just got bigger.

Revenue from the state Lottery and its nine racetracks with video-lottery terminals grew nearly 5 percent between 2015 and 2016, state records show.

The increase was fueled by a $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot a year ago, plus gains in Quick Draw and instant-lottery games, the records obtained by the USA Today's Albany Bureau showed.

New York's lottery revenue reached a record $9.8 billion last year, a nearly $441 million increase from 2015.

Five of the nine so-called racinos also posted gains, including Batavia Downs and Finger Lakes in western New York and Empire City at Yonkers Raceway.

Empire City's net win -- the amount of money left in the machines after pay outs to winners -- led the state, growing 5.6 percent over the year to nearly $590 million, the records showed.

“Empire City is proud of our growth but takes nothing for granted," said Timothy Rooney Jr., the track's general counsel, in a statement.

Dollar and a dream

Powerball sales soared 77 percent in 2016 to $537 million, while sales of Quick Draw -- which added bonus payout promotions last year -- grew 7.5 percent.

Overall, lottery games' sales increased 5 percent, while the racinos grew 3.2 percent.

The growth of the lottery and the racinos comes amid increasing competition for gambling revenue in New York and the region -- which several companies noted.

The state is in the middle of adding four full-scale casinos: Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier reopened as a full casino last month, and ones in Schenectady and the Finger Lakes are set to open next month.

Tioga Downs' net win fell 4.6 percent last year before it changed over from a racino to a casino in December after receiving a casino license earlier in the year.

The owner, Jeff Gural, also had a weak year at the Vernon Downs racino in central New York amid expansions by the Oneida Indian Nation at its nearby Turning Stone Casino and Resort.

More competition

The Oneidas added a new casino, Yellow Brick Road, near Syracuse in preparation of the del Lago casino opening in the Finger Lakes, a move that hurt Vernon Downs, Gural said.

Gural said Tioga Downs' numbers picked up in December after the re-opening, leading to higher gains overall for the year.

For Vernon Downs, though, Gural said he's asking the state for a better tax rate to compete with the Oneidas, saying Vernon Downs employs 300 people and supports the horse-racing industry because of its harness track.

"Hopefully we will succeed this year in getting relief as it does not cost the state anything," Gural said. "Our customers are simply going elsewhere in the state to gamble, and the state receives that revenue."

Last year, the state improved the tax rate for Finger Lakes because of the looming opening of del Lago, and now Finger Lakes wants help to pay its expenses to run its thoroughbred track.

VLT revenue

Finger Lakes finished the year with its net win up 1.2 percent compared to 2015, at nearly $129 million.

Batavia Downs was up 1.6 percent, to $53.4 million.

Hamburg Gaming fell off 1.3 percent, while Resorts World at Aqueduct racetrack in Queens -- which brings in the most revenue in the state -- dropped less than 1 percent to $826 million.

Empire City said the state should move forward with plans to allow downstate racinos to open as full-scale casinos with table games.

Now, they only have electronic table games to go with the slot-machine-like devices.

In 2013, voters approved allowing the state to open up to seven privately owned casinos. Yet the state agreed to open the first four outside the New York City area.

"Competition is increasing with full-gaming casinos opening in New York and more to come in neighboring states," Rooney said.

"Empire City looks forward to securing a full gaming license in the near future, the economic implications of which are endless both regionally and for all of New York.”

Before You Leave, Check This Out