R.I.P. O.T.B.? Board Votes to Close
The board of Off-Track Betting voted today, at the request of Michael Bloomberg, to shut itself down instead of looking for a bailout from the city.
Michael Bloomberg said that the city will not use taxpayer money to keep Off-Track Betting afloat. Critics, including Bloomberg, charge that the city pays for O.T.B., but the state receives more revenue. In effect, closing O.T.B. puts pressure on Eliot Spitzer to step foward with the money.
In a letter today from Pat Foye--the downstate chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation--to Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Rob Lieber and OT.B. head David Cornstein, Foye says that in 2007 the city received more money than the state from O.T.B. than the state, and also claims O.T.B. will be turning a profit "soon." He emphasized the need for new "racing and wagering" legislation and said it would take "only $1.1 million to ensure NYCOTB endures until legislation can be passed."
Foye also says, as part of his argument, that O.T.B. isn't well-suited for the new generation of tech-savvy gamblers:
“While racing has experienced major changes in customer preferences, the OTBs are also operating in a world not contemplated at their creation in 1971. Nearly 25% of NYCOTB handle is processed through call centers and on the Internet. While NYCOTB Internet wagering is small at present, it is growing quickly and eventually may supplant much of the wagering currently done at OTB’s 73 outlets. The shift from bricks-and-mortar towards the phone and Internet make the balkanization of New York State’s OTBs-as well as the separation of racing content from distribution through OTBs - an ill-suited business model for the 21st century.”
UPDATE: A Bloomberg spokesman just sent out a release that includes a quote from his remarks to the O.T.B. board:
“If we did nothing, by the end of June, OTB would be running a cash-negative operation for the first time in its history. I believe that if OTB is unable to operate without taxpayer subsidies, then it should not operate – period,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The City simply cannot take dollars away from schools and hospitals to pay for a gambling operation. We have no business subsidizing betting parlors at the expense of City taxpayers, particularly at a time when we’re asking all agencies to cut their budgets. OTB has made every effort to remain profitable.”
- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
- Spread
- RCP Average
- 46.0
- 42.0
- Obama +4.0
- Candidate
- Favorable
- Unfavorable
- Spread
- Obama
- 55.7
- 33.0
- +22.7
- McCain
- 52.7
- 34.1
- +18.6
I can't wait for that bloomberg to leave office!! Afterward he should be investigated for religious nepotism!
NYC OTB can't turn a profit? They have the largest handle of any racing facility in the U.S! Has anyone stepped inside or passed one of these establishments? If OTB is going bankrupt, it isn't because the patrons there are winning! Certainly, it isn't because the posh facilities are too expensive to keep up! What could possibly the overhead? A stale room with a few tellers and some televisions from 1995? Perhaps there should be a VERY big investigation to find out exactly where all the lost millions in revenue has gone. Is it a possibility that some of it could be going into the pockets of some fancy, well connected, appointed executives with far to many zeros on their check? Maybe? Not for profit, I know, but then where is the profit going? Will someone please explain this mystery? Don't get me wrong, the government should not have to bail them out, but why can't the laws change so OTBs in NYC could be bought and operated just like a private company? Many other OTBs outside of New York are privately owned. By respectable people- with much success- and above board. So racing fans like me can safely make a bet on a live race, on a horse I adore and a sport I love.
Can someone tell me why the OTB is listed in the Official NYC Guide and on the tourism website? If Bloomberg wants to get rid of the OTB then the knuckleheads he appointed at NYC & Co. should not have them as a member.
Bloomberg is a rich queer. He doesnt give a crap about people that want to bet.