In July 2005, according to South Dakota Gaming Commission records, players waged nearly $29 million in 997 penny slot machines. By June of 2006, those wagers had grown to $40 million played in 1,337 penny slot machines.
The same Gaming Commission reports show the average pay-outs (or dollars won by players) from those penny slots at just over 91 percent, leaving the gross revenues from penny slot machine play at $2.8 million in July 2005 and $3.4 million in June 2006.
Overall, for the state's fiscal year 2005, penny slots made up nearly half of all slot machine revenue for Deadwood.
In case you were wondering what the annual total played in penny slot machines was, hold onto your hat. aPlayers bet $355,072,195 in penny slot machine play from July of 2005 through June of 2006. Based on an average pay-out of 91 percent, gross revenue from those penny wagers hit nearly $32 million just in fiscal year 2006.
And that's just the pennies, folks.