The fall opening weekend for
harness racing at Colonial Downs also featured the opening of a new grandstand
wagering area devoted to video games with a wagering twist. In one of the
simulcast areas the racetrack installed thirty touch screen video game
machines. Games include a slot-like spin wheel and poker. On the
wall are the traditional simulcast screens with races broadcast from across the
country.
By making a $10 trifecta
wager at designated flat and harness tracks—on opening Sunday Philadelphia Park
was the selected track—a patron was given a plastic card with 1000 points on
it. Swiping the card in one of the video game machines then entitled the bettor
to play the video games, with the possibility of winning a $10,000 prize or
accumulating points that can be cashed in at penny a point.
A player who used up 1000
points without winning can make another $10 trifecta wager thereby adding 1000
points to his or her plastic card. The card does not expire and may be used at
subsequent visits to the track.
The business plan from the
point of view of track management and the horsemen is quite simple. Increased
handle by promoting trifecta simulcast wagering at certain tracks, which would
not normally occur, results in more revenue for Colonial and the Virginia HBPA
horsemen’s purse account. That is achievable because the commission, or take
out, on trifecta wagers at certain tracks, like Philadelphia Park, is a
relatively high thirty percent. The takeout on win/place/show wagering at most
tracks (including Colonial) is around 18%, and is usually in the 20% range for
“exotics” like exactas, trifectas, and pick four wagering.
The difference between a 30%
trifecta takeout at certain tracks and lower takeouts on wagers at other tracks
makes it feasible to pay video game winners without hitting too hard the
track’s pocketbook. And, of course, if the bettor hits the trifecta funding his
video game playing so much the better. When it comes to revenue, churn is the
name of the game in pari-mutuel wagering.
If the video games prove
popular, Colonial will keep the grandstand simulcast area open year round
instead of closing it when there is no live racing at the track. – Frank Petramalo.
9 comments:
Promoting high takeout wagers is not very bright for the long term. No wonder this sport is doomed. Suck up every dollar you can get now.
These are the same sweapstakes games that were outlawed in the Commonwealth on July 1. So when is New Kent County going to enforce the law?
FYI: Colonial's games meet the requirements of the July 1st law and have been recognized as such by the New Kent County Commonwealth's Attorney, Linwood Gregory. He gave Colonial an opinion letter to that effect before Colonial went forward with installing the games.
These machines are NOT the same as the sweepstakes machines that were outlawed. With the sweepstakes machines, you only had a chance of winning the top prize by betting the max bet. With this promotion, you have just as good of a chance of not ONLY winning 5 times a $2 trifecta bet on a Philly track, but you also have a chance to win up to $10,000......even if you only play one point at time.
I wish the negative people whose goals are to do nothing but to put Colonial Downs and the VA horse racing industry out of business would just find another blog to read, maybe something that would interest you??
Promoting a track and adding money in a pool with a 30% takeout is bad for the game long term.
TERRIBLE idea.
Promoting a track pool with a 30% takeout is just a bad idea.
This is plain and simple a promotion to encourage wagering on pools with higher take outs. What's wrong with that? When the wager is made, the customer gets entries into a promotion. There exists a finite number of prizes that are predetermined. The customer has 2 choices---they can either immediately find out the prize or they can go over to a monitor and engage in an entertaining way to reveal their prize. The prize is the same which ever way they chose. There is no way to increase the chances of winning the grand prize. Everyone has an equal chance of hitting it whether a purchase is made or not. Free entries are also available. The law that came into effect July 1st outlawed illegal sweepstakes operations that were not promoting a legitimate product. You could increase your chances of winning by playing more spins at once and they did not return the full prize a customer got. All making them illegal. Kudos to Colonial Downs for coming up with a way to introduce more customers to horse racing.
From feeling Violated,
I had a world touch store. It was raided in Va. and you are saying that this is different? My store you could win 3000 dollars on just a penny so to say the more you bet the more you won this is untrue. Do your homework!!! We did not require you to spend 10$ as you do, you could play a dollar to win the sweepstakes at my store.
From feeling violated
I had the same machines in va. and was shut down. I gave a free dollar every 24 hours you could win 3000 dollars on just a penny, so do your homework. These machines are the same as I had world touch. You are saying you had to play more to win not true!! Colonial downs is gambleing and alcohol this is illegal in va.
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