The Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. says it has used casino money to support advertising and marketing efforts.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center boasts a new renal dialysis unit and behavioral health center as proof of the benefits of its share.

Several costly capital improvement projects — including the construction of the new Niagara Street Elementary School — were covered in part with cash from the pool of funds.

The new terminal at Niagara Falls International Airport probably wouldn’t have been built without it.

In all, $18.45 million in slot machine revenue has been allocated to a total of nine entities by the city of Niagara Falls since Seneca Niagara Casino opened in 2003.

Recipients insist the community got a good bang for those gaming bucks.

“I think it’s been a godsend,” Falls schools Superintendent Cynthia Bianco said.

Under the 2002 gaming compact between the Seneca Nation of Indians and the state, between 18 percent and 25 percent of the slot revenue from the Falls casino is to be paid to the state. The tribal-state compact revenue account, commonly referred to as law 99-h, directs 25 percent of the state’s share to be returned to the host community, with the remaining 75 percent staying with the state. The host community share is split between the city and other entities identified in the statute.

The list of non-city recipients has undergone several changes over the years. NTCC, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and the school district have been involved since the beginning.

According to records on file with the city, NTCC has received a little more than $4.8 million in casino revenue to date. NTCC President John Percy said “every penny” has been used as directed under state law — to support advertising and marketing efforts. Percy said casino cash represents roughly one-third of his agency’s budget each year and has allowed NTCC to draw thousands of visitors to the Falls and the surrounding area through targeted marketing and advertising campaigns.

“The return on investment has been very beneficial to the entire county,” Percy said.

City records show Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has received $2.99 million to date. Hospital officials said $940,365 was used to cover part of the cost of the health care facility’s new $2 million renal dialysis center. Casino proceeds also are being used to pay the debt on $5.9 million in bonds issued to finance the construction of the hospital’s new $6.9 million behavioral health center. The first floor of the new behavioral health unit opened this week. The second phase is expected to be completed in March. CEO Joseph Ruffolo said the term of the debt payments coincides with the expiration of the casino cash legislation, which is scheduled to time out in 2016.

The hospital, which has faced financial challenges in recent years, could not have moved forward with either project had casino cash not been available, according to Ruffolo.

“It has allowed us to improve the quality of life for the residents who need these kind of services,” Ruffolo said.

Records on file with the city show the school district also has received $2.99 million.

Bianco and district business administrator Tim Hyland said the funds were used to support various aspects of the district’s capital improvement program, including costs related to the construction of the new Niagara Street Elementary School and renovations at the former 66th Street School, which now serves as the district’s administrative office.

“It allowed us to do the work and keep the tax levy increase down,” Bianco said.

Tracking the remaining recipients of casino cash is a bit more complicated.

For example, for two years, Niagara County received the remainder of whatever was left after the local share was distributed to the city and other entities described under the law. Last year, the county’s portion was returned to the city for use on road repairs following a change in the revenue statute pushed by state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston, and state Sen. Antoine Thompson, D-Niagara Falls and Buffalo. Before the law change, records show the county received a payment of $103,689 in revenue earned in 2006 and $873,205 in revenue earned during the first half of 2007. An accounting provided by the county to the city in March shows $140,500 of the cash has been spent to date, with most of the money used to support community organizations, festivals and improvement projects, including renovations at the Historic Palace Theatre in Lockport.

The county has filed a lawsuit aimed at restoring its allocation of casino revenue. In 2005, the county filed a similar claim, arguing that it should receive 75 percent of the local share. The claim was dismissed by State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Boniello III. The judge’s ruling came at a time when there was no casino cash distribution formula in place and he did not render a decision on the merits of the county’s argument. The county’s current case is ongoing.

An earlier Memorandum of Understanding that governed the distribution of revenue earned during 2004 and 2005 allotted funds to the city’s Urban Renewal Agency. The agency received a total of $2.6 million before it was removed from the equation under the 99-h statute. City officials said URA funds were spent on various economic development projects, including renovations at the recently reopened Rapids Theatre on Main Street.

The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency and Niagara Falls Housing Authority once received portions of the local share as well. The IDA was involved in the original deal only as the holder of funds directed annually to the redevelopment of Niagara Falls International Airport. Airport dollars were later transferred from the IDA to the airport’s operator, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.

In 2007, under the terms of the original casino cash MOU, the housing authority received $1 million to support its HOPE VI project. The revenue was a one-shot deal and the authority no longer receives a direct payment from the local share.

In 2009, the Underground Railroad Heritage Commission, which will oversee the development of an Underground Railroad museum in the Falls, was penciled in as a recipient of 1 percent of the local share or $350,000, whichever was greater. The city has set aside the funds for the organization but has not yet delivered them as the commission is still in the process of becoming a formally recognized non-profit group.

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250.