The new Aqueduct racino in Queens is a cash cow.
In its first 10 days of operation, bettors pumped a hefty $15 million into the slot machines and electronic table games, sources told The Post.
That’s an average of some $1.5 million in business per day — not including what customers spent on drinks and food.
It’s a welcome jackpot for Albany, where Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature are expected to grapple with another projected multibillion-dollar budget shortfall next year.
The state collects the lion’s share of revenue from Aqueduct’s Resorts World New York under the terms of a deal that allowed developers to turn the ailing racetrack into the state’s newest gambling parlor.
Of the $1.5 million in daily revenue, approximately $1 million heads to Albany, where it’s dedicated to financing New York education programs and propping up the horse-racing industry.
A portion also goes to the Division of the Lottery to oversee the racino.
The racino operator keeps less than a third — 31.5 percent of the gambling revenue.
The lottery division is expected to release official numbers as early as today.
Gaming-industry insiders and community leaders said early results show that the Big A racino is a rousing success.
“It’s a home run,” said James Featherstonhaugh, head of the New York Gaming Association, an umbrella group that represents the state’s nine racinos.
“Aqueduct’s opening has gone very well, very smoothly.”
Sources close to Genting, the gaming company that operates Aqueduct Resorts World, note that the phased-in opening leaves room for growth.
It opened last month as a half-casino, with 2,200 slot machines such as “Sex and the City” and “Wheel of Fortune,” and 200 electronic table games, including Baccarat and sic bo.
Another floor, with 2,500 additional gaming machines and amenities, will be added in mid-December.
Genting and other racino operators are pushing for state legislation that would permit them to operate live table games, which would elevate the facilities to full-fledged casinos and boost earnings further.
After 10 years of bidding scandals and delays with building a racino at Aqueduct, community leaders are thrilled with the facility, which many already describe as a casino.
“Genting did a beautiful job. When I’m inside, I can’t believe I’m in the middle of Ozone Park,” said Audrey Pheffer, the Queens county clerk and a former state assemblywoman whose old district includes Aqueduct.
“The outcome is better than I dreamed of. Genting did exactly what they said they would do.”
Betty Bratton, chairwoman of Community Board 10 in Queens, said that so far, the racino has been a positive.
“Overall, I would say the casino has not created monstrous problems that can’t be addressed,” she said.
“Traffic on the weekends has been a little difficult but not unbearable.
“Certainly, people are gambling. They like the food. The facility has been crowded.”
The city’s first racino provides a challenge to Empire City at Yonkers Raceway, which had a monopoly on the downstate market.
Yonkers officials said attendance has dipped since Aqueduct’s opening. But they expected they would take a hit. Confident they will be able to adapt to the competition, they said that Big A would “raise awareness” of racinos.