Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Others watch closely as first ‘racino’ opens

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- With a handful of dollars and a whir of 7s, jackpots and cherries, the state's big gamble on video lottery terminals began last week in a disorienting maze of 1,323 flashing machines.

Gov. George Pataki and the Legislature hope the Saratoga Raceway "racino" and similar operations at seven other tracks and eight other proposed sites will eventually pump up to $2 billion a year into education, while bailing the state out of nagging deficits.

Hundreds of mostly middle-aged and retired people waited for more than an hour outside in freezing temperatures after driving through a snowstorm hazardous enough to delay and close schools. To be the first inside several gamblers grasped door handles for more than 30 minutes before the gambling hall opened.

After a countdown and a cheer, bettors rushed into the football field-sized room, some at a jog, grabbing a free T-shirt then scurrying to the clusters of machines.

Don and Brandi Jones made the trip from Northville in the foothills of the Adirondacks. They drove an hour-and-a-half through a snowstorm on a trip that normally takes 40 minutes.

"We usually go to Turning Stone, (an Indian casino in central New York) but we may come here more often," Don Jones, 32, said. "It depends what they have."

"Now that it's close enough, we may come here twice a month," Brandi Jones, 29, said.

The $15 million Saratoga gaming operation covers 55,000-square feet, offering VLT games with such names as "Winning for Dummies" and "Reel 'Em In." The machines operate for as little as $1 up to $100 for several plays and on prepaid cards. Cushioned red seats match the reds and greens of the floral carpet. Plasma televisions hang from Diamond Jim's Spirits & Rumors, where before 11 a.m. two bartenders served five patrons cupping glasses of beer or paper cups of coffee.

The center, with its two restaurants, a food court, gift shop and trolling cocktail waitresses, will be open 16 hours a day until 2 a.m., seven days a week. The raceway has hired 300 gaming workers, compared to the 200-person work force for the adjacent harness track.

Wednesday's opening was closely watched by the other seven racing centers planning to open soon.

"Everybody's been sharing information," Edward Carney, director of public relations at Batavia Downs, said. Batavia is scheduled to open its 750 VLTs in July and hopes by Dec. 31 to be taking in just under $25 million.

At Saratoga, some bettors with free T-shirts draped over their shoulders and coats and pocket books on their laps chatted with spouses and friends at the next machine. More sat alone, transfixed by the flashing screen and feeding dollars into machines, leaving only to smoke outside as required by law.

The din from the chatter drowned out the recorded light jazz, which could be heard only under the speakers suspended among the uncovered gray pipes and ducts in the ceiling. But no one was looking up anyway.

"I'm a loser already," laughed Marsha Morrow, 50, of nearby Clifton Park. She usually goes to the Indian-owned Foxwoods casino in Connecticut with friends and expects to continue the once-every-two-months excursions because she enjoys the bus trips.

"I love it," said Randy Manhey of Victory Mills, Saratoga County, as he cashed in his $150 in winnings after betting $40. He said he now might cut back on his twice-a-year visits to Turning Stone, but says he is still drawn to roulette at casinos.

Tom Roberts, 70, of nearby Stillwater peeled off a few dollars for his wife and pocketed the balance of the wad into his khakis. He hits Indian casinos a couple times a year and Las Vegas as least annually.

"We'll probably once in a while come here," he said. "But it won't cut out Las Vegas."

Outside, a half dozen sleek harness horses quietly trained on the track in the gently falling snow, within feet of one of the walkways. As gamblers streamed in, no one seemed to notice.

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