Denominator of popularly stated WR/EV

[Orpheus]

Earlier this weekend, I was talking with a non-gambling friend about win rates and EV, and I got stuck on the issue of the denomiator fo the EV numbers we all have memorized. I assume ethat they are "per hand, on average" because that is the only fundamental unit that seems to make sense. However, this would weigh "# of hands played" (to attain, e.g., the targeta wager rate for a casino bonus) far more heavily than many of the analyses I've read -- exponentially, in fact!

I don't play casino games, so I never thought about it. Am I missing something, or have I read flawed BW analyses?