NY Times opinion

[pmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by docicu3

"These bleak establishments rake in $1 billion a year, but little of it stays in the city. The state and the racing industry siphon off most of the revenue from these gambling relics. So when Mr. Bloomberg heard that the off-track parlors would need city money to survive, he rightly offered to help turn out the lights."

Is there an easy reference for the real numbers here? Does this takeout money get recycled throughout the state rather than NYC so this is misleading as hell?

$1B is the Gross Handle.

If that article was the first piece I read on the topic, I would walk away thinking "NYC residents piss away $1B a year at OTB and the City does not see a net dime of that."

Not exactly the information to enlighten people as to political tug of war and structural issues surrounding the NY racing model right now...

Steve linked a few DRF articles on the other NYC OTB thread that pretty much hit the nail on the head redarding the money trail and areas for imrpovement in the system. Unfortunately this likely reaches a much larger audience in the NYT.