|
 The organization makes a profit but is mandated by law to hand over so much of its money to the state that the venture may no longer be worth it for the city, Bloomberg said Thursday.
"The state uses it as a cash cow, and the city has been subsidizing the state, and we are not going to continue to do that, I can just tell you," Bloomberg told reporters.
The threat of a shutdown got a mixed reaction at an OTB branch in lower Manhattan, where dozens of mostly older men stood watching television screens, their hopes riding on horses with names like Diamond Isle, Never Faster and Malibu Moonshine.
"It'll never happen," said 83-year-old Georgie Jackson, waving a newspaper as if to swat away the idea. "This is like a home to us
-- I come here every other day. I'm too old, too lazy, to go all the way to the track."
This branch, like many others, is a bare, gray room, smelling slightly of lemon cleanser, lined with televisions, a few seats and vending machines. Most of the gamblers would not give their names to a reporter but admitted they lose $50 to $100 a day on this hobby; the regulars said they win about twice a week.
The betting operation's financial troubles are notorious in New York, where former Mayor Rudy Giuliani famously proclaimed it the only bookie around that loses money.
City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. issued a report last year noting the operation had ended multiple fiscal years with an operating deficit, and its financial future was bleak.
Between 1997 and 2001, the city received an average of $11 million from OTB. That number fell to just $1 million in 2002, and the city got no money in 2003 and 2005, the report said.
The city is supposed to get money from NYCOTB based on the amount it takes in from surcharges on winnings, as well as income left over after NYCOTB has taken care of its financial obligations.
The problem, say Bloomberg and others, is that those obligations -- mostly payments required by state law
-- are absorbing more and more money, leaving little or none for the city.
[to top of second column] |
 Over the years, there have been attempts to change the law and reduce the amount of money going to the state, but those efforts haven't gone anywhere.
Thompson said he shares Bloomberg's frustration, and he called on state lawmakers to "make changes and treat New York City fairly."
"There has to be something done to stop this -- they just continue to take a bigger and bigger bite," he said.
Paul Larrabee, a spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer, said the governor "is open to a discussion during which the fundamental structure of the OTBs and its formula are modified. We don't believe it should lose money either."
Bloomberg aides said the mayor had not decided for sure whether to shut down OTB. One of his concerns is the loss of NYCOTB's 1,500 jobs.
There are also statewide implications, particularly for New York Racing, which depends on NYCOTB for a chunk of its operating income.
In Albany this week, the state Senate's Republican majority proposed an overhaul of racing in New York, including placing NYCOTB under a state authority.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said he had informal discussions with the mayor and others about including the city's OTB, and eventually other off-track betting operations statewide, under an authority. That state authority would also run Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga racetracks.
Spitzer doesn't support that plan, which was proposed just weeks before the current state thoroughbred racing franchise expires Dec. 31.
[Associated Press; by Sara Kugler]
Associated Press writer Michael Gormley in Albany contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
 |
