Empire City Casino At Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway had a US$225 million renovation designed by EwingCole to put in more than 7,500 high-tech slot machines. The first phase opened on October 11, 2006, with 1,870 video gaming machines installed. Despite a "soft opening", with no major advertising or promotional campaigns, Yonkers netted $3.8 million in revenue in its first week, outpacing its nearest competitor, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, by two-thirds. The second phase of the project, which opened on December 28, 2006, added 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) of space to bring the total number of slot machines to 4,000. On March 12, 2007, the third phase opened to bring the slot machine total to 5,300. Because the facility falls under state lottery laws, the minimum age to play the slot machines at Empire City is 18, unlike the other area casinos, where it is 21.
In 2009, they started using the Bo Diddley song "You Can't Judge A Book by Its Cover" in commercials.
On July 26, 2011, Empire City Casino broke ground to on a $40 million expansion that will include new restaurants as well as adding more slots and games. Opening of the extended building is scheduled some time in 2012.
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