OTB Remains A Sure Bet

Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg crossed the Finish Line with a last minute agreement to save Off-Track Betting in New York City. The deal is pending approval by both houses of the New York State Legislature. The pact is somewhat complicated with many financial considerations for both sides. No details will be discussed here. Suffice to say, Mayor Bloomberg’s gamble to close OTB offices in the city unless New York received a bigger share of the profits apparently worked. Albany chose to "bite the bullet" that might have sent OTB to "the glue factory." The compromise between the city and state guarantees the jobs of 1,500 OTB workers and no doubt pleases the many hundreds of thousands of pony-players who bet throughout the Big Apple. Well, it probably pleases them only until their horses finish out-of-the-money! And now, some famous quotes … A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time. ~Author Unknown … I bet on a horse at ten-to-one. It didn't come in until half-past five. ~Henny Youngman … A race track (OTB?) is a place where windows clean people. ~Danny Thomas

Don’t Bet On OTB Winning A Fixed Race

In 2006, the city’s Off-Track Betting Corporation had a gross profit of $125 million dollars. A very tidy sum indeed to spend within the five boroughs. Unfortunately, the now four year old revenue sharing deal with Albany somehow netted the state $134 million dollars on that $125 million gambling surplus. Believe it or not, we owed $9 million on top of the $125 million they already took from us!

Dracula knew how to sip on a neck and not gulp. He didn't completely drain his victims to leave them dead. He managed his resources more intelligently than those controlling the bottom lines now. OTB is looking very pale.

Someone up in Albany has to realize you can’t beat a dead horse to cross the finish line. It has no incentive or life. OTB is in a similar state. Under the present financial system, we can’t win in our place, when we have nothing to show for it in the end. Either the state government should restructure the deal to overwhelmingly benefit New York City or the city should put OTB out to pasture until more reasonable minds prevail.