YOU BETCHA IT PAYS

Queens casino nets billions for education

ALBANY — New York City’s sole casino isn’t a bad gamble.

Resorts World Casino in Queens has generated more than $3 billion for New York’s lottery education fund since opening near Aqueduct Racetrack in 2011.

The staggering sum, collected over the past nine years, is enough revenue to fund 12 million laptops, based on a $250-per-tablet cost, or pay 37,500 public school teacher salaries for a year, officials said.

“As New York now begins its recovery, we are proud to continue to provide critical support so that kids across the state have access to a higher-quality education, and we are ready to step up and elevate that support in both the short- and long-term for the state,” said Bob DeSalvio, the president of Genting Americas East, which operates the site.

Over the past fiscal year, the New York Lottery contributed $3.38 billion to help support education in the state, of which the Queens casino generated $348 million, more than any of the other video gaming operators in the state.

The city received $1.5 billion from the overall fund during the 2019-20 fiscal year.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens), chairman of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, applauded the additional funds brought in by the casino.

“The $3 billion Resorts World NYC has generated for New York’s lottery education fund has been used to improve the lives of countless students and teachers across the state,” he said. “I am extremely proud to have Resorts World NYC in my district — and hometown — and I look forward to continuing to partner with them going forward.”