ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – State officials say New York gamblers plunked down a record $9.1 billion on state-sanctioned lottery games in 2012.

That’s up a billion dollars from the previous year.

The Democrat and Chronicle, of Rochester, reports that the high total is partly linked to a big increase in New York’s sale of tickets in the multistate Powerball game. There were some huge Powerball jackpots this year, including a $587 million prize in November.

This year was also the first full one for New York City’s new “racino,” the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct.

The Daily News reports that the video-lottery machines at Resorts World had $668 million in net sales.

You may share your thoughts in our comments section below…

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)