All in on racinos: Revenues up 30%!

ALBANY — New York’s virtual casinos saw revenues jump nearly 30% in the previous fiscal year — with a big boost coming from the opening of the racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

The success of the nine racinos located throughout the state comes as the Legislature considers whether to back a constitutional amendment to legalize casino gambling, which will also require a referendum.

“I don’t think (legalizing casinos) will be easy under any cir- cumstance, but the revenue numbers support everything we’ve been saying about the industry and about our projections,” said New York Gaming Association President James Featherstonhaugh.

The nine racinos recorded $1.43 billion in net revenue during the fiscal year that ended March 31, state te Lottery Division figures show. That’s up 29% from the $1.1 billion the racinos pulled in during the previous fiscal year.

The Aqueduct racino, which opened last October, made $252.7 million in net revenue, including $59 million in March.

That’s more in six months than all but one of the other eight racinos raked in for the full year.

A coalition of racino r owners is pushing for the state to allow them to convert their operations into casinos. They say the racino haul from the previous fiscal year provided $667 million to the state for education, under a preset funding formula.

The Aqueduct racino’s operator, Resorts World Genting, says its performance shows the revenue for the state that is at stake.

“New York has been losing billions in revenue to other states until now,” Genting spokesman Stefan Friedman told the Daily News.