Just down the road a bit on Erie Boulevard, David and Marion Sullivan of Rotterdam were sitting at the lunch counter at Mike's Hot Dogs Friday afternoon, grabbing a bite before heading to Rivers.

"The food is great here," Marion Sullivan says, "I've lived here my whole life. My father was a GE employee. We've always come here."

But it's not just the Sullivans who are coming to Mike's these days.

"Lots of new people are coming in," says Leila Iadicicco, whose been dishing out the dogs at Mike's for about a year. "People are coming in after going to the casino early in the morning and going late at night."

Ever since the casino opened, Iadicicco says the lunch counter is busy from sun up until sun down.

"I think it's exceeded expectations," Iadicicco says, "It's really been great. I think it's going to get better with nicer weather coming. People will be able to go to the casino on their boats."

The steady traffic on Erie Boulevard seems to back up with Iadicicco is saying. Other business owners seem to be in agreement that casino patrons are boosting their bottom line.

"If they don't leave a tip at all, I'm assuming they lost," Iadicicco says with a chuckle, "Sometimes people that come in and you can tell by how fast they're walking that they're really pumped up and excited and tey won."

Interestingly. last week gaming revenue at Rivers Casino was up 18% from its first week in February. Over that same time period, State Gaming Commission figures indicate that the take at Saratoga Casino was 20% higher.