Governor to Save Off Track Betting from Mayor in New York

Governor David Patterson and the bipartisan leaders of the state legislature announced Friday that a deal had been reached in which the state would take over the OTB system.

The governor of the state of New York and the mayor of New York City have placed themselves in a political battle with each other of the future of the Off Track Betting business. In February, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the OTB board unanimously decided to close down operations by June 15th for the financially challenged institution.

However, that decision would have left 1500 workers unemployed, and struck a severe blow to the horse racing industry in the state. Therefore, Governor David Patterson and the bipartisan leaders of the state legislature announced Friday that a deal had been reached in which the state would take over the OTB system.

Under the new agreement, the Off Track Betting Corporation would be replaced by the Empire State Off Track Betting Corporation, and would move forward with plans to return the company into profitability by eliminating redundancies and exploring partnerships with private businesses.

The mayor did not find that the state deal addressed the city's concerns, and reiterated that the city would close their operations. A statement from Bloomberg's office said, "We will fight to prevent gambling operations in the City unless they provide a public benefit to the City."

In return, a spokesman for Patterson asserted, "It is distressing to hear of the City’s objection to an agreement that will meet the Mayor’s long-stated demand for a permanent fix that would ensure that the City not have to subsidize New York City O.T.B." It was then pointed out that for the state to assume OTB's liabilities while the city continued to collect the surcharges on winning bets would be unreasonable.

The union representing municipal workers applaudeed the governor's action in saving the jobs of OTB employees.

OTB regular Andy Rzepka was thrilled with the state's solution. "I've been using OTB for 30 years. It seems weird that a gambling business can't be run profitably. Maybe the state's taking over will chase out whatever incompetent and shady people that ran this into a hole."