What would get you back to an otb/simulcast center?

[andicap]

OK, stay-at-home players who used to go to local simulcast/otb sites to play the ponies.

is there anything your local outlet could do to woo you back?
for example,

-- private state of the art betting terminal with free program?

-- nice atmosphere where you are treated well and you can get a decent meal and drinks for a decent price?

-- some freebies for big bettors -- drinks/program/admission (yes, some charge an entrence fee!)

-- good looking, friendly (but not TOO friendly) waitresses? (sorry, don't mean to sound sexist, but sex does still sell in some quarters.)

-- electrical outlets for computer users?

-- better pictures on in-house TVs through flat-screen sets?

-- 'Fun' things like handicapping contests, giveaways, etc.

-- more handicapping information on-site. things ranging from shoe info, easier access to scratches, better communication of what's going on at the tracks, or more sophisticated handicapping info like trainer-jockey stats, other background 'capping info.

-- something not mentioned above.

-- None of the above. i am a confirmed stay at home punter.

-

[Doc]

I would go to an OTB far more often if they would BAN SMOKING! I can't stand walking in there, breathing all that crap, and then come home smelling like an ashtray. That's the main reason I prefer staying home! I live in Philadelphia and the So. Philly Turf Club near the stadiums is especially smoky. :cool:


Doc

[Tom]

What would get me back to an OTB?

Handcuffs and duct tape.

Topless cashiers.

[cj]

Rebates

[sq764]

All I want is a waitress (hot or ugly, as long as she has a beer in her hand) to come around every so often, a comfortable chair, a personal tv and courteous people.

Doc- come to Delaware, it's all smoke free!! It's wonderful!!

[Doc]

Hey, you're right, I forgot Delaware was smoke-free. It's not that far down I-95, either. :)


Doc

[sq764]

When my wife and I go to AC, it's very uncomfortable being in so much smoke.. I appreciate coming home..

[bettheoverlay]

Doc, isn't the whole downstairs at the NE Philly Turf Club, the one in the Roosevelt Mall, smoke free? Haven't been there in awhile.

Agree on the SPhilly club. Still a great place to go to in the restaurant, with two TVs and a Tiny Tim at each table. Food is pretty good. I used to go every week, but am on the internet in Jersey now. Still go once a month to meet up with some buddies.

[JustRalph]

What would get me back to an OTB? Handcuffs and duct tape.

I am with Tom on this one. We don't have a thriving OTB setup here in Ohio........and the ones we have are pretty nice and mostly non smoking, but you can't beat the convienence of being right here at home.

[Tom]

Ralph is right - I would go to HIS home before I would go to an OTB!
(Labatts Blue, frosted mug) :D

[NoDayJob]

:D Free, topless, limo service, fully stocked, from front door to track and back, might work for me. :D

NDJ

[toetoe]

Topless on the distaff side only, or the busty geldings too? I'm getting kidney sweat just imagining it ... NOT!

[Tom]

BigToe...thanks for the visual! NOT! :D

[hurrikane]

I'm all for the topless idea

[toetoe]

New waitress every day -- the "Daily Double!"

[Zman179]

If topless waitresses worked at an OTB, I would stay as farrrrrrrrrrr away from that place as possible.

Looking at a naked woman and not being able to have contact with her is the equivalent of running 1,2,3,5 in a superfecta. Yeah you came real close, but you sure as hell ain't getting anything.

[toetoe]

Zman,
Beauty can be appreciated without touching. Think of them as museum pieces. No restoration, we trust.

[rrbauer]

I've been to a few of the Philly Park Turf Clubs (Upper Darby, Oaks, Brandywine). By not separating the smoking/non-smoking sections physically with walls and a separate ventilation system, there's little relief. When I leave there after a day in the non-smoking section, my clothes smell like an ash tray.

What would get me to travel to a simulcast site (buying gas, investing in commute time, paying admission, paying inflated prices for food & beverage items, etc.) versus staying at home with TVG, HRTV, multiple broadband streaming video feeds, online internet betting and a 7% rebate?

You're kidding!

[betovernetcapper]

They'd have to give me something that I don't have at home.Personal betting monitor-outlet for computer for sure. Rebates would help. A very big selling point would be the ability to bet or cancel bets right up to the bell.

[levinmpa]

The Philadelphia Park Turf Clubs are absolutely first rate, with the exception of the smoke. The smoke makes the experience untolerable. Even in non-smoking areas, the smoke is present in the air, and I used to come home with my clothes and hair reeking with smoke. I choose not to play in that kind of unhealthy environment. Instead I play all tracks through Phonebet.com. Next best thing to being there.

[sq764]

The Philadelphia Park Turf Clubs are absolutely first rate, with the exception of the smoke. The smoke makes the experience untolerable. Even in non-smoking areas, the smoke is present in the air, and I used to come home with my clothes and hair reeking with smoke. I choose not to play in that kind of unhealthy environment. Instead I play all tracks through Phonebet.com. Next best thing to being there.

Man you are not kidding.. I occasionally hit the one on Route 1/202 and it's even worse smoke - cigar smoke that wreaks through the air.. I usually leave after an hour because I stink so bad..

Come down to Delaware Park, nice Simo section and the whole place is smoke free.. can't beat it.

[andicap]

The Philadelphia Park Turf Clubs are absolutely first rate, with the exception of the smoke. The smoke makes the experience untolerable. Even in non-smoking areas, the smoke is present in the air, and I used to come home with my clothes and hair reeking with smoke. I choose not to play in that kind of unhealthy environment. Instead I play all tracks through Phonebet.com. Next best thing to being there.

What doe sthe Turf Club have that makes them great?

[andicap]

What about -- for big bettors only -- if you had a personal state-of-the-art betting machine at your table and privacy. Free drinks/program like the one United Tote has put in at NYRA. and Free rides to and from home. (small town). If no rebates, you could offer an "affinity" rewards program based on level of betting for meals, discounts at area stores, etc. Hell, if the bettor was a big enough whale, free baby-sitting. (Actually I would open a Discovery Zone type place, with games/crafts and movies for kids, let the parents dump their kids there a few hours and have fun. The high rollers would get in free. )


I would personally endorse topless waitresses -- depending on what they looked like. Not sure I'd want some of the waitresses I've had at Aqueduct -- (shudder)

[sq764]

Free rides to and from home.. Fantastic idea!!

How nice would it be to get loaded and not have to worry about calling the wife to pick you up..

[Tom]

Andicap,
I already have all that...at home. :cool:

[keilan]

Tom – I have everything you have at home except the topless waitress – I’m on my way over, gotta beat the crowd :D :cool: ;)

[JustRalph]

Andicap,
I already have all that...at home. :cool:

I have the best waitress in the world at home........if we are gonna compare the waitresses and I get to include my wife...........I am never going back to a simo or any track

She wears whatever the clientele prefers............and sometimes I have very little preference. ;)

[levinmpa]

Andicap.

I've been to simulcast locations all over the country, and the Philly Park Turf Clubs are far and away the best. First of all the betting menu can't be beat. They carry everything. There are massive numbers of televisions, so no matter where you sit, you can see everything. Seats with personal TV's so you can change the channel to whatever you want. Tiny Tim betting terminals that allow you make wagers from you seat. The facilities are clean, comfortable(with the exception of the smoke), and well appointed. Another item that puts them above other facilities is their graphics package. Each track has seperate in house monitors with exacta grids showing at all times. How many times have watched a monitor waiting for exacta payouts to be shown, only to have them taken off the screen when your combo is about to come up. At Philly Park and the Turf Clubs you can always see the entire exacta grid. If they ever deal with the smoke issue, I'll be back. I prefer to be where I can see everything at all times, but I also enjoy playing from the comfort of my home and watching the races on Phonebet TV.

[andicap]

The exacta grid issue is a great point. I know how you feel about that.

There are times I want to stay home -- like today when its 20 degrees out -- and times I hunger for some human companioniship, to kibbutz about the races, complain about bad rides, and brag about a big score. But like everyone here, I want first-rate service, good food, affordable drinks, short lines, comfortable furniture, and handicapping info (odds, etc.) at my fingertips at a moments notice. One of my biggest gripes is the inadequacy of getting up-to-date info from the tracks over loudspeakers at some places.

Gulfstream Park had roving tellers at one of its restaurants. What do people think about that?

Handicapping contests for those patrons only? Little ones for free drinks or bigger ones for free trips or a month of free DRFs/programs.

How about baby-sitting service (a Discovery Zone type of place) for regulars/bigger bettors -- so a couple can have a nice lunch/dinner?

Pools -- like those football square (but obviously something different) so that even those with minimal knowledge can win something when the big races come up.

Rebates would be nice, but are generally out of the purview of individual simulcast centers. Although you could do so "in kind" to bigger bettors by subsidizing a lot of their expenses/meals, etc.

Make latest handicapping information available more easily so that you get say, shoe information by other means than just the track announcer. Post it somewhere and tell people it's posted.

[sq764]

Andicap.

I've been to simulcast locations all over the country, and the Philly Park Turf Clubs are far and away the best. First of all the betting menu can't be beat. They carry everything. There are massive numbers of televisions, so no matter where you sit, you can see everything. Seats with personal TV's so you can change the channel to whatever you want. Tiny Tim betting terminals that allow you make wagers from you seat. The facilities are clean, comfortable(with the exception of the smoke), and well appointed. Another item that puts them above other facilities is their graphics package. Each track has seperate in house monitors with exacta grids showing at all times. How many times have watched a monitor waiting for exacta payouts to be shown, only to have them taken off the screen when your combo is about to come up. At Philly Park and the Turf Clubs you can always see the entire exacta grid. If they ever deal with the smoke issue, I'll be back. I prefer to be where I can see everything at all times, but I also enjoy playing from the comfort of my home and watching the races on Phonebet TV.

The restaurant at the Turf Club on Rt 1 and 202 has excellent food for reasonable prices too.. I like sitting there for a meal with a tiny tim and a monitor and playing the races