Some interesting points here regarding just how "bad" NYCOTB has it - http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...act_id=1527145

Thank's for posting this link. Ben Liebman paints a perfect picture of how NYCOTB is so full of baloney.

Probably not telling NY'ers anything new, but this time last year I hit a Pick 4 while at Aqueduct, tried to cash the ticket at West Islip before we got on the plane - no dice - had to wait until my summer trip to Saratoga to cash it - turns out you can't even cash the Nassau tickets in Suffolk county and vice versa and none of them cash NYRA tickets... Frigin' amazing

nyra and otb are 2 different entities when it comes to cashing

yup - hard to believe that there is no reciprocity between them - check that, what am I thinking?

State stonewalls NYC OTB; Chance for NYRA on ADW action?
 

Albany refused to cave in to Sandy Frucher's extortion plot for NYC OTB, and good for them. The situation could pave the way for NYRA to annex the online and telehone bet-taking portion of NYC OTB, but the 'governor' blocked that for now Friday.


NYCOTB to Close Down April 11
By Tom Precious

The Democratic leader declined to discuss the plan, but there were several competing measures floating around the state Capitol. One, according to sources, was an Assembly push to let NYRA take over the lucrative internet and phone wagering business of the OTB; it was unclear how that would solve the OTB’s cash problems, but would have gone far in addressing NYRA’s own fiscal headaches. Gov. David Paterson rejected the idea.

After the breakdown in talks, NYCOTB announced Friday night it had mailed layoff notices to its employees. “It was hoped that there would be a resolution by close of business on March 26, which would make it unnecessary to send the notices,’’ the OTB said in a statement.

But legislative sources say the OTB is bluffing on its closure threat, and that there are administrative avenues for it to get the money it needs to stay afloat for the next couple months. They also insisted the OTB has cash in reserves to avoid layoffs.


New York OTB to shut down after bailout fails
By David Grening

The New York Off-Track Betting Corp. plans to shutdown operations on April 11 after negotiations for a potential 11th-hour bailout with legislators in Albany fell through on Friday, the company said in a press release.

According to a published report, legislative leaders were discussing several scenarios on Friday as to how to keep OTB afloat for the next few months. One plan, according to Bloodhorse.com, was for the legislature to allow OTB to delay more than $1 million in some of its statutory revenue sharing distributions, such as to the New York Racing Association. OTB owes NYRA more than $15 million, according to OTB's Dec. 3 bankruptcy filing.