Empire City Casino Blackjack

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Anthony Civitillo, 29, of Tenafly, New Jersey tries the electronic blackjack game at Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway Yonkers Raceway started the machines on Saturday, after the state budget authorized the installation of the games in March.(Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)Buy Photo

YONKERS —It didn't take long after a change in state law for Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway to jump at the opportunity to offer electronic blackjack, satiating pent-up demand for the popular card game.

“Every day on the floor I get a question, ” said the casino's operations floor manager Ryan Munroe, near a bank of newly-installed blackjack games. “Now I have somewhere to send them.”

A budget provision approved April 1 allowed racinos across New York State to expand their video gambling offerings to include games of "skill, " like blackjack and three-card poker. And with blackjack one of the most popular casino games, Empire City has been aggressive in its roll out of the new machines, in an effort to boost revenues as competition for gamblers grows.

The first two banks of terminals went up Saturday on the second floor outside Nono's Trattoria, giving the casino 24 seats for would-be blackjack players, alongside existing offerings like baccarat, craps, roulette and slots.

Tuesday afternoon, crews were working on installing another 12 machines, which Munroe said would be operational that evening. Downstairs, another 40 were being installed, with another handful on the way, bringing the total number of blackjack machines to 98 by next Tuesday.

From there the goal is 200, and then 500. There is no timeline set, said Empire City spokeswoman Taryn Duffy. The casino plans to install the games as quickly as they can get the machines from a distributor.

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Anthony Civitillo, 29, of Tenafly, New Jersey shows Ben Carducci, 74, of Purchase how to play the electronic blackjack game at Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway. Yonkers Raceway started the machines on Saturday, after the state budget authorized the installation of the games in March. (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

Duffy said games like video blackjack can help recover the billions New Yorkers take to New Jersey and Connecticut casinos, which feature live table games. In 2014, the state's racinos experienced a drop in revenue, with only Batavia Downs outside Buffalo and Resorts World Casino in Queens experiencing positive growth.

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