NYCOTB to Close Down April 11

[Igeteven]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/


I feel sorry for the employees and their family's, The State of New York must do something to protect these people

If anyone out there knows where we can e mail, please post.


IMO, this is despicable what is going on. We are talking about 1300 workers


Any comments.

[Cratos]

Originally Posted by Igeteven

http://www.bloodhorse.com/


I feel sorry for the employees and their family's, The State of New York must do something to protect these people

If anyone out there knows where we can e mail, please post.


IMO, this is despicable what is going on. We are talking about 1300 workers


Any comments.

This is not about the employees of NYOTB and I feel badly that they will lose their jobs, but this is about politics and it has been that way since the inception of OTB in New York many years ago.

OTB should be run the way it is in Pennsylvania; by the respective racetracks. They are the ones who produce and maintain the product (i.e. horserace gambling) and they should be the ones who operate OTB; not some politicize organization which is staffed by cronies.

[classhandicapper]

I don't think it will close down. This is hardball political posturing.

To begin with, there are still a lot of profitable branches. Plus we are moving into the busier Triple Crown season and even more importantly the SARATOGA season when NY racing still NEEDS OTB. Finally, the state would get stuck with some massive pension liabilities if the company is closed down.

The company obviously needs a major overhaul, but even the insiders understand that. The fight is about how to do it. It's difficult because there are multiple OTBs around the state that probably should be merged and eventually the racing business in NY should be under one umbrella. But there are huge numbers of jobs at stake and many politically connected people involved.

[Zman179]

Ok, so here's the question.

IF OTB were to close down, how much does attendance rise at Belmont?

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Zman179

Ok, so here's the question.

IF OTB were to close down, how much does attendance rise at Belmont?

I think the real question here is is the NYOTB shuts down how much more will the NJ ADW's make?

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by Cratos

This is not about the employees of NYOTB and I feel badly that they will lose their jobs, but this is about politics and it has been that way since the inception of OTB in New York many years ago.

OTB should be run the way it is in Pennsylvania; by the respective racetracks. They are the ones who produce and maintain the product (i.e. horserace gambling) and they should be the ones who operate OTB; not some politicize organization which is staffed by cronies.

Exactly right on every point.

[lamboguy]

Originally Posted by Zman179

Ok, so here's the question.

IF OTB were to close down, how much does attendance rise at Belmont?

i think a better question would be, it they close how much handle do the new york tracks lose?

[Rutgers]

Does this mean that the state will drop the NYRA rate 1%? Since the rise was due to the financial problems of NYCOTB.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

i think a better question would be, it they close how much handle do the new york tracks lose?

In 2008, downstate OTBs accounted for about 30% of NYRA handle. Of course that includes the Suffolk, Nassau and I believe the Catskill system. And I found somewhere else that NYC OTB accounts for about 60% of the downstate total. So I believe about 20% of NYRA's $3 bb or so annual handle is from the NYC OTB system. It would be nice if more exact information were included in the next DRF or Bloodhorse article on the matter.

[Rutgers]

For what's it's worth, I think initially the total handle on NYRA races may drop but the revenue to NYRA will probably increase.

NYCOTB closing is not going to stop the larger regular players from playing the races, they will probably switch over to a NYRA account or go to Belmont or Aqueduct. (of course some will also switch to one of the other regional OTB's) But, for the players that do switch to NYRA, NYRA will actually get a bigger share of the handle. The bigger share may make-up for the lost handle.

And I meant to say above.

Does this mean that the state will drop the NYRA takeout rate 1%? Since the rise was due to the financial problems of NYCOTB.

[onefast99]

Does this also include the restaurant type OTB's? Or is it the free standing OTB's only?

[Tom]

Closing OTB is a great idea!
they are noting buy leeches.
There is no possible need to have OTB.
Let the tracks sell thier own product and get rid of political nepotism and outright incompetence.

OTB is less than worthless.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by onefast99

Does this also include the restaurant type OTB's? Or is it the free standing OTB's only?

The numbers I provided would include both. I'm estimating the percentage from NYC OTB, though, using two different sets of numbers, so I may be off.

I don't see that 1% extra takeout being reduced!

[thespaah]

Originally Posted by Igeteven

http://www.bloodhorse.com/


I feel sorry for the employees and their family's, The State of New York must do something to protect these people

If anyone out there knows where we can e mail, please post.


IMO, this is despicable what is going on. We are talking about 1300 workers


Any comments.

Yeah..See ya.
If NYCOTB was a money maker this would not be an issue.
SInce NYCOTB is draining off taxpayer dollars to keep the shops open, it's bad government policy. Time to shut it down.
Sorry, but the workers need to find other places of employment.
Now if NYC OTB were a private enterprise, this would be a non issue.
Problem with NYC and other OTB's across NY are front loaded with expensive jobs granted on political patronage.
SInce the OTB's in NY handle a majority of the wagering dollars going into the pools, there should be no reason why NYC OTB struggles so.
The finger has to point to the NYS Government.
It seems no one in NYC or Albany wants to talk about where all that money flowing through the betting shops is going.
In tough economic times the first thing to do is shut down non essential government spending.
One side will ask "what about all those workers who lose their jobs?"
The other side will ask "why should we the taxpayer have to subsidize workers for things we cannot pay for?"
OTB is not an essential government function. If budget constraints demand that a non-esential be defunded, so be it.
Link.http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/a...elines/...this goes to my comments, Yeah in the grand scheme of things $1.4 million is not a lot of money. But a little here a little there all adds up to higher taxes for residents. Enough is enough. These government enterpises need to stand on their own or face shut down. Again this focuses on non essential government services ONLY.
BTW can anyone tell me why government worker jobs should be protected while those of us in the private sector are afforded no such protections?

[thespaah]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

i think a better question would be, it they close how much handle do the new york tracks lose?

appprently not very much. Becuase if the NYC shops were bringing in significant amounts of money this would not be an issue.