Saratoga Casino announces fiscal year results

The results, posted on the New York State Gaming Commission website, are from April 2015 to March 2016, the state's fiscal year.

A casino spokeswoman pointed to two major reasons why the net win increased: the introduction of blackjack and three-card poker electronic table games, and milder winter weather compared to last year.

"The first quarter's weather was much kinder than last year's first quarter," said Rita Cox, spokeswoman.

The $163.5 million in net winnings was a 3.1 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, and the highest total since the casino opened in January 2004.

The net win had hovered in the $158 million range since 2012-13.

The turnaround in net winnings — revenues minus payouts from VLTs, which mimic slot machines — comes as the casino/harness track is spending $40 million on a hotel, steakhouse and other improvements that will be finished this summer, along with a re-branding that could include a new name.

Saratoga Casino and Raceway is making the investment before the opening early next year of the $330 million Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, a full-scale casino that could cut gambling on VLTs by an estimated 40 percent.

There were $2.3 billion "credits played" during 2015-16, which is a measure of total amount wagered but doesn't mean $2.3 billion was fed into machines. A single dollar can be wagered multiple times as gamblers repeatedly play games, winning or losing before cashing out or leaving empty-handed.

Of the amount wagered, New York state collected $78.9 million to spend on K-12 education, a 3.4 percent increase over the previous year.

The New York Gaming Association, a trade group representing the state's nine casinos/harness tracks, also known as racinos, is concerned overall revenues will be hurt if New Jersey lawmakers allow casinos to open in the northern part of that state.

Statewide, the nine racinos had $1.98 billion in net winnings during the 2015-16 fiscal year, an $82 million increase over the previous year.

Of the $37.2 billion in credits played, $906 million will fund K-12 schools in the state.