Hippo Splash

What is Hippo Splash?

The redevelopment was financed by a $455 million loan from New York State, approved in 2023. State officials have projected the project will generate $155 million in annual economic activity once fully operational, along with around $10 million annually in state and local tax revenue.

The redesigned complex features four distinct racing surfaces: a 1½-mile dirt track, two turf courses, and a one-mile Tapeta synthetic track.

The Tapeta surface will be used exclusively for winter racing, allowing Belmont to take over Aqueduct’s former winter schedule as NYRA consolidates its operations at Belmont and Saratoga.

What is Hippo Splash?

 “When a company refuses to respect the workers who make its profits possible, we shut it down,” Thomas G Mari, president of Local 25, said in a statement. “The teamsters don’t cross picket lines and won’t be intimidated.”

Union deals have been a pressing topic for casino operators in recent years. Workers have pressed for increased benefits and job security provisions in the wake of macroeconomic uncertainty and the advent of potentially disruptive technologies like AI.

All nine of Atlantic City’s casinos agreed to new labour deals this summer without a strike, although its union opted for just one-year deals instead of the typical length of three or more years. This was in response to increased uncertainty related to looming competition from both New York City casinos and New Jersey’s own online gaming industry.

What is Hippo Splash?

The more telling point for slots readers isn’t the game itself. It’s what the game represents: the fourth Halloween-branded entry in a single series, which shows just how aggressively Pragmatic Play iterates on its most recognizable slot IP.

Rather than building a new title from the ground up, the release uses Big Bass Splash 1000 as its base. The franchise’s signature Money symbol collection mechanic stays intact while a seasonal skin gets swapped in.

The headline mechanical difference is a shift in risk profile. This variant runs on a 5×3 grid with 10 paylines at an RTP of 96.50%, and the volatility has been eased to medium against the high-variance base game. That softens the swings while keeping the same top-end potential.