Showing posts with label Off Track Betting. Show all posts

Monday, July 18, 2016

A gambling-crazy future: What are the odds?

GENE MILLER / PUBLISHED: JULY 18, 2016

Editor,

Regarding “House approves bill that expands gambling venues,” Standard-Speaker, June 29, consider this tongue-in-cheek, lame attempt at political satire:

“Hey, Brad! What’s happening?” Dave shouted as he barged unceremoniously into his neighbor’s kitchen.

Brad barely looked up. “Nothing much,” he muttered. “But I told Andy I’d help him with his math homework, and I’m stumped. This stuff is pretty hard.”

“What’s it about?” Dave asked.

“Probability.”

“Oooh,” said Dave sympathetically. “That sounds awfully advanced for ninth grade. I remember taking probability at Penn State 30 years ago and having lots of trouble with it. Is there a specific focus?”

“The lottery,” Brad sighed. “They want the kids to figure out the odds of winning the Pick 3 and the 39 other games. Then since the county and most of the boroughs and townships have their own lotteries, the students have to apply their broader conclusions to the local versions. It’s really complicated. But they need to be aware of current trends, I guess.”

“Yeah, my daughter’s doing an 11th-grade term paper on casino psychology. She hopes to find out why so many people are attracted to them.”

“Well, at least school’s not all heavy academics,” Brad said. “Since they introduced video poker as a phys-ed elective, the kids have something to look forward to three times a week.”

“And there’s off-track betting as an afterschool option,” Dave noted.

“They’re doing some creative things,” Brad agreed, “now that state funding isn’t an issue anymore. Do you remember — it’s been almost 12 years — when Gov. Wolf and the Legislature were locked in that budget stalemate. And it was mainly over education spending and who’d pay for it. That seems like ancient history. It could never happen nowadays.”

“It’s amazing, when you think about it,” Dave mused. “Who’d have thought then that gambling revenue would expand so fast that it more than covers all statewide expenditures. When they abolished the income tax and all local property, school, count, and municipal taxes two years ago, it was the most popular thing that ever happened in Pennsylvania. And next year the sales tax bites the dust too.”

“The whole situation is a politician’s dream,” Brad reflected. “All those no-tax pledges are passé now. They can all run for re-election and they won’t even need the gerrymandering.”

“There is a downside to all this,” Dave said, growing suddenly serious. “Since we induced all Jersey’s casinos and online gambling sites to move here, that state’s gone belly-up. I’ll bet they’re gonna need a huge federal bailout.”

“That’s their problem,” Brad said. “But there’s also the matter of those 8½ million folks who need treatment for their gambling addiction. And there seems to be no money in the budget for it. The churches especially are up in arms about that.”

“Yes,” said Dave, “but did you hear about that church that’s installed slot machines in their vestibule? Someone told me it’s an alternative to offering envelopes. Where d’ya think it’ll all end.”

If our legislators continue to favor the “easy” or “painless” expansion of gambling over the meaningful — though unpopular — reform of the state’s revenue (i.e., tax) system, could it one day approach reality? Stay tuned.

Gene Miller,

Sugarloaf Township

http://standardspeaker.com/opinion/a-gambling-crazy-future-what-are-the-odds-1.2067951

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Nassau County’s Bad Bet on Gambling

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

JAN. 1, 2016

The community of Elmont, on Long Island, may soon be getting a neighborhood amenity that’s high-class and exciting, if you think a big carpeted box filled with a thousand video gambling machines is high-class and exciting.

On Tuesday the Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation announced that it would seek New York State’s permission to open a 100,000-square-foot gambling emporium at Belmont Park, the racetrack on the edge of Queens that is home to the Belmont Stakes.

We already knew that casino-style gambling was coming to Long Island; that’s because of a deal struck in 2013 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dean Skelos, then the powerful Senate Republican leader from Nassau County, when Mr. Cuomo was seeking to legalize full-fledged casino gambling upstate.

The agreement allowed one gambling hall in Nassau County and one in neighboring Suffolk County, each with up to 1,000 video-lottery terminals, or V.L.T.’s, which are similar to slot machines and are wired into the state lottery system. They were going to be a shot in the arm for county officials who were forever clawing for revenue and didn’t care how they got it.

From the experience of other places, we know that casinos and gambling are instruments of blight — blighted neighborhoods, the blighted lives of problem gamblers and the blighted politics of elected officials who can’t, or won’t, find a better path to economic development.

In New York, the plan has long been to attach a dubious financial engine (gambling) to a broken-down heap of an industry (horse racing) and fuel it with people’s thinly stretched paychecks and Social Security benefits. Giving up on better ways of reviving the upstate economy, Mr. Cuomo doubled down on gambling: He engineered the 2013 referendum that rewrote the State Constitution to open the door to seven Las Vegas-style casinos, and then cut the deal for the two video gambling parlors on Long Island.

Yet many people in Nassau don’t want slot machines anywhere near their homes. Because of local resistance, the Nassau parlor was never considered for the retail and entertainment heart of the county, called the Hub. Why is that, if gambling is such an economic boon? It was blocked from an OTB “race palace” in Plainview and from the site of a shuttered department store in Westbury. In addition, Suffolk’s plan to bring its machines to a shuttered movie multiplex in Brookhaven is mired in a lawsuit.

The pro-video-gambling forces in Nassau are counting on the State Legislature and local communities to accept the development at Belmont, and “counting” is quite literal in the case of the county executive, Edward Mangano. He has already put $20 million of gambling revenue in his 2016 budget. That’s based on estimates that the parlor will net at least $150 million a year.

That’s a lot of losing gamblers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/opinion/nassau-countys-bad-bet-on-gambling.html?_r=0

Monday, September 28, 2015

NY: Residents and Lawmakers Protest Against Medford Casino & “political patronage machine”

Residents and Lawmakers Protest Against Medford Casino

September 27, 2015

A group of protesters from Suffolk County, New York rallied on Saturday against the establishment of a small casino in Medford. Residents of the area, lawmakers, and other involved individuals gathered together to voice their disapproval of the project.

The Suffolk Off-Track Betting Corporation had previously revealed plans to build a mini-casino in Medford. It purchased a 31-acre parcel that had formerly been a movie theater for the amount of $10 million. The projected gambling property would spread over 100,000 square feet and would feature video lottery terminals and casino slots. Suffolk OTB has repeatedly called for regional lawmakers to approve the construction of the facility so that it can open doors sometime next year. Environmental checks have already been carried out.

The company and its plan has been meeting vocal opposition since it had first been introduced. Residents and legislators expressed fears that a property of this kind would have extremely negative impact on the local community. According to them, its launch would result in increased crime and traffic as well as in more people showing symptoms of gambling addiction.

As mentioned above, the Saturday rally was attended by several legislators as well. Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) pointed out that the negative effects of casino gambling in Medford would far exceed the benefits people believe they would receive.

Furthermore, Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James), who proposed earlier this year a bill that would have rescinded the authorization of the proposed gambling venues in Medford and Nassau, announced yesterday that he would re-submit his bill during the upcoming legislative session. The legislator expressed hopes that this time it would get the necessary approval.

In March, the majority of Suffolk County officials voted against Assemblyman Fitzpatrick’s bill. They explained their decision to nix the proposed legislation with the fact that a gambling venue in Medford would generate revenue for the region and jobs for residents.

Here it is important to note that Suffolk OTB is looking to emerge from bankruptcy. Medford residents said during the Saturday protest that they would not like to host a gambling venue in order to help a struggling off-track betting company, considered by many a “political patronage machine.”

http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/2015/09/27/residents-and-lawmakers-protest-against-medford-casino/

Friday, February 6, 2015

...latest schemes to fill budget gaps reveal the abject desperation....

Letter: Casinos and traffic fines = desperation

February 5, 2015

During a meeting of the Carle Place Civic

The latest schemes to fill budget gaps reveal the abject desperation of our legislators to scare up money without inconveniencing their benefactors: the 1 percent ["OTB relents on casino," News, Feb. 1].

In what rational plan are video slot machines and automated traffic fines a benefit to our citizens? These schemes simply siphon money from our middle class while offering nothing in return -- not education, not culture, not tourism, not infrastructure improvement. And then officials are shocked when we protest.

At least Las Vegas casinos give you dinner and a show before emptying your wallet and leaving you in an alley!

Legislators, if you are really this bereft of ideas, would you please step down and let people with more imagination and integrity take a crack at it?

Daryl Altman, Lynbrook

http://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/letter-casinos-and-traffic-fines-desperation-1.9909183

When is Expanded Gambling NOT Expanded Gambling? In Connecticut!

Lobbyist: Slots will help casinos in ‘fight for survival’

By - Associated Press - Friday, February 6, 2015

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - An advocate for slot machines at some off-track-betting sites has told state legislators that Connecticut’s two casinos are in a “fight for survival” that can be won by installing the gambling devices.

The Day of New London reports (http://bit.ly/18TISojJim ) that Jim Amann, former House speaker and now a lobbyist, called on the General Assembly Thursday to pass legislation potentially authorizing video slot machines at OTB facilities.

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes that own the casinos have the exclusive right to operate slots in Connecticut.

Supporters of the legislation say installing slots at OTB facilities would not be an expansion of gambling but would redistribute Connecticut slots inventory.

Cheryl Chandler, interim executive director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, said slot machines are particularly addictive for problem gamblers.
___
Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Casino may not fit anywhere in Nassau County

January 31, 2015 2:42 PM
By LANE FILLER

During a meeting of the Carle Place Civic Association on Jan. 21, 2015, people stand in opposition to the proposed building of an OTB gaming parlor at the vacant Fortunoff site in Westbury. Photo Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara

Maybe it’s not possible to site a slot parlor in Nassau County.

Saturday morning the Nassau OTB announced that it is folding the cards on its plan to put 1,000 video slot machines at a casino in the old Fortunoff store in Westbury. No site is perfect for gambling, but with its commercial environs, empty 200,000-square foot building and vastly underutilized parking, the site at The Source seemed to be about as good as it’s going to get.

If the shoe won’t fit there, it may not fit anywhere.

Did OTB head Joe Cairo misplay the deal? It now looks like there are two ways to go: keep everything a complete secret until the deal is entirely done, which would be kind of disreputable, or do everything out in the open and face a mountain of opposition from day one. In Westbury, Cairo trod a middle path, letting the public in on the plan once it was well underway, but not a contractually sealed deal.

Grass-roots opposition sprang up fast. Local, county and state officials from both parties followed the public quickly once the blood was in the water. And although Cairo had every law on his side, he had to give.

The OTB is run by an appointed board, and Cairo himself is a leading Republican politico. Once the deal became unpopular enough, he couldn’t close no matter how much law was on his side. The announcement that the OTB was dropping the Fortunoff plan, in fact, came a day after Cairo won a court battle against opponents looking to block the project. It was a hollow victory.

So while Cairo says he’s going back to the drawing board with 18-20 properties he had identified originally, it may be that Nassau County is a place where you simply can’t open a small casino.

The OTB’s Race Palace in Plainview won’t work, Cairo says, because it lacks parking and adequate entrances and exits, is too small and already faces community opposition.

Putting the machines at Belmont is not all right with the New York Racing Association and Genting, the company operating more than 5,000 machines at Aqueduct. Slots at the Nassau Coliseum complex will see vicious opposition from powers-that-be at Hofstra and in the Town of Hempstead. And the old Cerro Wire property? If residents fought a mall for decades, they likely won’t accept a casino.

There are certainly other locations in Nassau, empty buildings and empty parcels. But there likely aren’t any that won’t stir strong community opposition. It’s a dense county that most residents don’t want any denser. It’s a place where people care a lot about property values and “suburban lifestyle.”

The residents of Nassau County have the right to decide they don’t want a casino. Many do want the revenue it will provide in their county, just not the hassle they fear it will bring to their community.

If it can’t be sited, then the county will be deprived of an estimated $20 million per year and 200 jobs, and eventually, the OTB will likely go bankrupt as the popularity of horseracing fades, costing even more jobs and revenue.

If County Executive Edward Mangano and other politicians are going to fight the best sites, they need to be honest about the effects on either tax bills or services, or both. And taxpayers need to be honest with themselves about the cost of fighting new development and revenue sources … of all kinds.

http://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/lane-filler/casino-may-not-fit-anywhere-on-long-island-lane-filler-1.9888189

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Garden City wants studies before video slot machines go to Fortunoff site

Friday January 16, 2015 5:57 PM By Celeste Hadrick

Garden City village, a Republican stronghold, has entered the fray over plans by Nassau’s Off-Track Betting Corp. to locate as many as 1,000 video slot machines in the former Fortunoff department store in south Westbury.

If Garden City turns against the proposed gambling parlor, the county GOP would pay attention because of the village’s many Republican voters.

But the village hasn’t reached that point, it seems.

In a letter to Nassau’s Off-Track Betting President Joseph Cairo and state and local officials, the village this week asked for more studies before VLTs are installed in the vacant store at the Source Mall.

“The Village of Garden City is of the opinion that prior to any determination of placing a video slot machine facility . . . at the former Fortunoff Store Site . . . that there be more formal public input about the project’s desirability and detailed economic, environmental and traffic impact studies regarding the proposal,” wrote Village Administrator Ralph Suozzi on behalf of the mayor and village board.

Suozzi requested public hearings, meetings soliciting public input and completion of economic, environmental and traffic impact studies.

OTB said Friday it “looks forward to working with all elected officials that represent the communities adjacent to the proposed Video Lottery Terminal gaming facility. Rest assured that we will continue to address the issues and concerns of local residents that have arisen as a result of the possible siting of a VLT facility in a small portion of the former Fortunoff flagship store.”

A bipartisan mix of elected officials have come out against the Fortunoff site, including County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican; Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican; Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, a Democrat; Nassau Legis. Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury); and Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallero, a Republican.

State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury) has suggested the mini-casino be located at the Nassau Coliseum — though others, including the Coliseum leaseholder, oppose that location.

Some Republicans say that State Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City), whose district includes the Fortunoff site, sent a letter to Cairo last week about the Fortunoff proposal. Hannon has not returned Newsday’s requests for comment for the past 10 days and his local public relations person said he could not confirm that a letter had been sent.

Mangano and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone had requested the state legislature approve VLT’s for Long Island as a way to increase revenues for their counties.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/spin-cycle-1.812042/garden-city-wants-studies-before-vlts-go-into-fortunoff-site-1.9816092

Long Island residents voice opposition to proposed casino-style gambling parlor

Published January 16, 2015

Associated Press

WESTBURY, N.Y. – About one thousand Long Islanders packed a meeting to oppose a plan to build a casino-style gambling parlor in Westbury.

Westbury and Carole [sic] Place residents and about two dozen elected officials argued that the proposed project would increase traffic on Old Country Road, spur crime and bring down property values.

The site of the proposed casino in a vacant Fortunoff Building is half-mile from 1,200 homes and less than a mile from three schools.

Newsday (http://nwsdy.li/1CuY4Bh ) says Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro said if OTB doesn't find another site, he'll file a lawsuit.

Suggested alternate locations included the Nassau Coliseum and Belmont Park racetrack.

The Nassau OTB says it will address the community's concerns. It says the casino would create 200 jobs and generate $150 million in annual revenue.
___
Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/01/16/long-island-residents-voice-opposition-to-proposed-casino-style-gambling-parlor/

[VIDEO ON LINK]

More than 1,000 pack Westbury school to oppose casino-style gambling parlor at Fortunoff building

Updated January 15, 2015 10:54 PM
By ROBERT BRODSKY

Angry Westbury and Carle Place residents and officials packed a meeting with Nassau Off-Track Betting representatives at St. Brigid / Our Lady of Hope Regional School in Westbury on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, to oppose a plan to build a casino in the vacant Fortunoff building. (Credit: Newsday / Chuck Fadely)

More than 1,000 furious Nassau residents packed a Westbury elementary school Thursday night to voice their opposition to a plan to build a casino-style gambling parlor at the vacant Fortunoff building at The Source mall.

Westbury and Carle Place residents filled the auditorium at St. Brigid-Our Lady of Hope Regional School, standing wall-to-wall 10 rows deep to protest the plan by the Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. Many carried signs urging OTB to "Stop the CasiNo We Will Remember In November."

The residents and more than two dozen elected officials and civic leaders argued that the proposed gaming parlor will increase traffic on Old Country Road, spur crime and cause property values to plummet. The proposed casino is a half-mile from 1,220 homes and less than a mile from three schools.

Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro says Fortunoff was "selected because it was thought to be the path of least resistance." He said the towns are "certainly not the path of least resistance."

Cavallaro conceded it will be an "uphill battle" to stop the project but said if OTB did not find another site, he would file a lawsuit.

Several leaders suggested moving the casino to the Nassau Coliseum. That move would face resistance from Hofstra University and a developer that is spending more than $200 million to make it a sports-and-entertainment complex.

Others suggested Belmont Park racetrack. OTB officials have said that idea would not be approved by the State Gaming Commission because of its proximity to Aqueduct Racetrack and its massive racino.

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth called the proposed gaming site a "colossally bad idea." Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said she was "pleading and cajoling" with OTB officials to select an alternative site.

Nassau OTB general counsel Arthur Walsh said the agency would address community concerns but told the crowd that the project "was for the benefit of the whole county." The audience then shouted him down with boos and catcalls.

OTB announced last month it was negotiating to purchase the Fortunoff building, which closed in 2009.

A contract is expected to be finalized by month's end and the facility could open by November,

Nassau OTB president Joe Cairo said. A price for the property has not been disclosed. The site would operate 20 hours a day and house up to 1,000 video slot machines and table games. Gambling would occupy 15 percent of the 200,000-square-foot building.

OTB projects that the gaming parlor would create 200 jobs and generate $150 million in annual revenue, including $68 million for state education and $20 million for Nassau.

Westbury and Carle Place residents have aggressively criticized the plan, creating social media pages, circulating petitions and erecting lawn signs.

"We have a ton of support and the great thing is we are all voters," said John Viscusi, a Westbury resident and an organizer against the casino.

Cairo said earlier that fears were misstated and the project would not increase crime. "We will make every effort to satisfy the community's concerns," Cairo said. "But, I don't expect 100 percent of people to agree with us."

Cairo said OTB has no intention of moving the location. OTBs are exempt from local zoning by state law, and VLT site selection requires only the approval of the State Gaming Commission.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/nassau-residents-pack-westbury-school-to-oppose-gambling-parlor-at-vacant-fortunoff-building-1.9813277

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Is horse racing entering the final furlong?

Bookies’ cash helps to support racing, but betting on the horses is becoming less popular, according to Ladbrokes and Gala Coral

Leading Light (right) beats The Queen's Estimate (centre) and Missunited in this year's Royal Ascot Gold Cup

Bookmakers complain of falling profit margins on horse racing but the industry says spectator numbers are in rude health, in particular for big events such as the Royal Ascot Gold Cup (above) Photo: PA

ByNathalie Thomas,Leisure and Transport Correspondent

8:30PM BST 23 Aug 2014

There was an unseasonable chill in the air as racegoers made their way to the Knavesmire, the marshy, green area of York where the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin met his death by public hanging in 1739.

The Knavesmire is now home to the city’s racecourse. Long coats and hats usually reserved for jump-racing fixtures such as the Cheltenham Festival had to be dusted off for the Ebor Festival, one of Yorkshire’s most prestigious racing events, which came to a close on Saturday afternoon. But the changeable weather was not the only thing to be sending a chill through the horse-racing industry.

Ladbrokes recently issued a stark warning to courses, trainers and breeders: betting on horse racing is fast becoming “unsustainable”.

Younger gamblers are more interested in having a flutter on other sports, especially football, according to Britain’s second biggest bookmaker. Gaming machines are also competing for the pounds in punters’ pockets.

In the Seventies, betting fans queued up to back legendary horses such as Red Rum. But nowadays online poker and roulette, and figuring out who will open the scoring for Chelsea, are competing for attention.

“It’s football and these other sports which are helping to counter the ongoing decline in attractiveness the industry is seeing in the dog and, in particular, horse-racing markets,” Ladbrokes’ chief executive, Richard Glynn, warned at the bookie’s half-year results earlier this month.

“If turnover trends do not improve and if the current cost structures are maintained for horse betting in particular, it may rapidly reach the point where it becomes unsustainable as a product.”

Ladbrokes is not alone in its fears. On Friday, Gala Coral warned that the profitability of horse racing in its shops has halved over the past five years “and the trend shows no signs of abating”.

Ladbrokes has produced some alarming numbers to support its claim. The bookie believes that next year racing will only account for a fifth of winnings at its betting shops — down from 40pc in 2005 — unless “drastic action” is taken to reinvigorate interest in Britain’s second biggest spectator sport. Over that nine-year period, the bookie says, the costs of racing to the betting industry have doubled. The two main costs are the horse-racing levy, a statutory duty on bets placed “off course”, plus media rights. Traditional bookmakers have to pay for the rights to broadcast races in their shops. They agree deals with one of two broadcasters – SiS or Turf TV, a joint venture between Britain’s top racecourses and Joe Lewis, the billionaire owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Bookies claim media costs jumped 20pc between 2008 and 2013.

Statistics from the Gambling Commission appear to back up the argument that horse racing is becoming less profitable, while the appeal of football betting is on the rise. Between 2008 and 2013, turnover from “off course” betting on horse racing fell 11pc from £5.7bn to less than £5.1bn. During the same period, gross gambling yield — the total value of stakes minus customer winnings — has dropped from £843.79m to £697.05m. Meanwhile, football betting turnover has jumped by more than a fifth to £1.2bn, while the gross gambling yield has also improved from £224.94m in 2008-09 to £293.41m in 2012-13.

Income from bookies accounts for around a fifth of the horse racing industry’s total income.

Sources within the industry admit that it would be disastrous if a major bookie withdrew its support. So is there a danger that horse racing is entering the final furlong?

“Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated,” insists Simon Bazalgette, chief executive of The Jockey Club, the largest racecourse group by turnover in the UK and the owner of 15 tracks, including Aintree, Cheltenham and Epsom Downs. In April, The Jockey Club posted its fifth consecutive year of record operating profits and Bazalgette says the sport’s appeal to spectators is as strong as ever.

“As far as racing and its customer and audience are concerned, it’s in good shape. There are about 6m people who go racing every year, that’s the second biggest spectator sport,” he says.

“Over the last five years people who say they have got some interest in racing has gone up from one in 10 to one in five. Our TV reach still remains very high — 40pc of people during the course of the year watch some horse racing on television. That is a very significant number, [which] is not declining.” Bazalgette argues that the sport has also worked hard to ensure the younger generations are engaged with racing. Many courses allow

under-18s to attend for free. Race nights finishing with music concerts are also extremely popular.

“The 16 to 34 age range represents about 52pc of our customers,” says Bazalgette.

A recent report by the British Horseracing Authority and Deloitte also painted an encouraging picture. In 2013, 5.6m people attended 1,369 fixtures, helping to provide direct and indirect employment for 85,000.

The healthy headline figures do mask problems, however. Few on the racecourse side of the industry will dispute the fact that gambling on horse racing in betting shops is losing its allure.

Many breeders are also in dire financial straits. The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association warns that many breeders, particularly smaller businesses, are generating losses. UK breeders are failing to provide enough foals to meet demand. Racecourses are now heavily reliant on foreign runners and foals bred abroad to fill their fixture lists.

There has long been a stand-off between bookies, racecourses and breeders over costs in the industry. The Government has frequently had to step in and mediate in the annual negotiations over the Horserace Betting levy.

On the one hand, the bookies claim the UK racing industry has never been wealthier. They produce figures showing that total income has increased by 44pc since

2004-05. Meanwhile, betting shops are coming under increasing pressure because of taxes. Ladbrokes estimates that taxes now equate to close to 70pc of profits in its retail business. From December bookies will also be hit with a 15pc online betting tax while duty on gaming machines will rise next year. The top three biggest bookies in the UK are all closing shops.

On the other hand, the racing industry argues that income from the levy has declined from a peak of £110m in 2007-08 to just £80m, and betting companies in this country make a lower contribution to the sport than their counterparts in other countries.

Bets placed online are also a point of contention. Many of the major bookies such as William Hill and Ladbrokes have relocated their online businesses offshore. Bets placed through their fast-growing digital divisions are, therefore, not captured by the Horserace Betting Levy.

Chancellor George Osborne announced in this year’s Budget that the Government will seek to change that. A consultation on the future of the levy is also expected to be launched next week, looking at longer-term funding solutions for the industry.

While British horse racing may not have run its course, fears over rising costs suggest the going won’t be smooth over the next few years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/11052183/Is-horse-racing-entering-the-final-furlong.html

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Leave it to New York!

When New York State was inspired to open OTB Parlors, they were placed in POOR NEIGHBORHOODS.

Neighborhoods may have been poor, but they were family-oriented with little crime.

That all changed with New York State's Brain Fart!

Bereft of ideas, incapable of fiscal reform or economic development....here they go again!

08/06/2014

NYRA explores self-betting terminals at bars

By David Grening

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Almost four years after New York City Off-Track Betting closed, the New York Racing Association is hoping to re-enter the market by placing self-betting machines at select bars and restaurants throughout Manhattan.

According to Anthony Bonomo, a member of NYRA’s Re-Organization Board, he and NYRA president and chief executive Chris Kay have met with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and hope to finalize a proposal by September that would allow customers who are members of the NYRA Rewards program to wager on machines in some of the city’s establishments. Bonomo said NYRA would attempt to target 50 establishments in the five boroughs.

“We’ve had a couple of meetings with the city, the mayor’s office, and the mayor himself to discuss the strategy,” Bonomo said following a NYRA board meeting Wednesday at the Saratoga National Golf Course. “We’re very far down the line, I think, to getting the approval to go forward with this.

It’s good for racing, it’s good for the bar owners because they’re looking for things to attract people into their establishments. It will be very controlled under the auspices of the mayor’s office.”

In order to avoid needing legislative approval for this to happen, only players who are NYRA Rewards members would be able to place a wager in a bar or restaurant.

Re-establishing its presence in the city will be part of NYRA’s long-term planning strategy for re-privatization that it hopes to present to the full board in December, though that plan is not due until April. The plan also will include recommendations regarding NYRA’s two downstate tracks, Aqueduct and Belmont Park.

Michael Dubb, who co-chairs the Long-Term Planning Committee with Bobby Flay, said, “There’s no economics operating two racetracks eight miles apart.”

Dubb said NYRA has engaged an architectural firm to discuss how to make Belmont “suitable for year-round racing, reducing the size of the grandstand, bring in other potential uses for some of the land,” with the goal of bringing more people to the track. “Every major sports venue in the city has been redone ... so we want to be on a level with them,” he said.

Though an alternate use of Aqueduct has not been determined, Dubb said Aqueduct’s “highest value is probably to Genting for future development.” Genting operates the casino at Aqueduct.

In other news:

◗ Through the first six months of 2014, NYRA had net income of $13.9 million but had an operating loss from racing operations totaling $5.2 million. NYRA has handled $1.1 billion this year, a 3.1 percent increase over the $1.078 billion handled through the first six months of 2013.

◗ While not taking a stance on the recent proposal by trainers to gradually phase out race-day medication, Kay said there will be meetings with NYRA’s Racing Committee and Equine Safety Committee “to address the efficacy of race-day medication, knowing the state will ultimately make the final decision.

“We know there are different points of view. We intend to address this issue promptly, fairly, and with all relevant information available to us and consider all stakeholders in this process,” he added.

“We’ll do so over the next couple of months, doing what is right for the horse, for us, and for the horse-racing industry.”

◗ Kay was awarded a $250,000 bonus and a 3 percent raise on his $300,000 base salary by the board. “He’s restored NYRA to profitability, built a strong management team, improved equine safety, enforced transparency, and taken significant steps to enhance customer experience,” said Vincent Tese, chairman of the Compensation Committee.

◗ NYRA reported its fatality rate for horses on the track as 1.0 per 1,000 starters, a significant reduction from 2.1 per 1,000 starters in 2012.

◗ Marc Holliday, chairman of SL Green Realty Corp., was named to the NYRA board, replacing Jane Rosenthal, who resigned from the board in May.

http://www.drf.com/news/nyra-explores-self-betting-terminals-bars

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Racinos struggle in first five months of year

Joseph Spector, 11:08 p.m. EDT June 6, 2014

ALBANY – Revenue at seven of the state's nine racinos was down during the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2013, records show.

The facilities attributed the drop off largely to bad winter weather and said they expected to rebound during the second half of the year.

The net win at the nine racetracks — the amount of money left after payouts to winners — was down 2 percent between January and May, according to the state Lottery Division, a drop of $16.6 million. Only Resorts World in Queens and Batavia Downs in western New York saw gains so far this year.

At some of the facilities, the drop was stark: the net win at Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier was down 8.3 percent, and Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway was down 7 percent. The largest decline, 18 percent, was the Buffalo Raceway in Hamburg, Erie County.

"Weekend after weekend of rain and snow most certainly had a chilling effect on our first quarter numbers," Taryn Duffy, a spokeswoman for Empire City, said in a statement.

Jeff Gural, owner of Tioga Downs, said the weather coupled with a Mohegan Sun casino hotel that opened near Scranton, Pa., hurt the facility's revenue.

"I think a bad winter and the fact that Mohegan Sun opened a hotel," Gural said. "I think that was a good idea on their part, and they have been very aggressively promoting it."

Gural is among 19 bidders for four casino licenses the state will award this fall. Last year, the state approved the legalization of four privately owned casinos in three regions: the Southern Tier, the Catskills and Albany area.

The existing racetracks have raised concerns about the impact of new casinos, and Gural said he would add a hotel and amenities if he was awarded one of the licenses. There are two competing casino proposals in the region.

Finger Lakes Racetrack and Casino in Farmington, Ontario County, and Batavia Downs have fought attempts by the Seneca Nation of Indians to build a casino in neighboring Monroe County.

Between January and May, Finger Lakes had a 2 percent drop in its net win. But Batavia Downs was up 9 percent — the largest increase in the state. Batavia Downs, which is owned by Western Regional Off-Track Betting, is undergoing an expansion.

"It's a testament to the people that work here and just the type of programs we have," said Batavia Downs spokesman Ryan Hasenauer.

Finger Lakes spokesman Steve Martin said they expect a better second half of the year. The facility has also undergone an expansion.

"We feel the slow start to the year was impacted largely by the longer and more severe winter this year that altered guest visitation patterns," Martin said. "With our recent expansion and additional summer entertainment options kicking in, we are optimistic looking forward."

Empire City, which also completed an expansion, has a summer concert series that starts July 6, Duffy said.

New York already has the largest gambling revenues in the nation at $3.2 billion — twice as large as California and Florida combined.

Assemblyman Racing Committee chairman Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernon, said the racinos' recent woes are indicative of a struggling gambling market across the nation. The Northeast is nearly saturated with 55 casinos, experts have said.

"Everybody is down because money is down," Pretlow said. "There is only so much gaming money that is around."

Last month, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned that New York may not see an economic boom from the four upstate casinos because gamblers may just shift to the new places and hurt the existing ones.

The racinos are pushing the state Legislature to provide them more opportunities to expand revenue, such as increased hours and more free-play incentives to draw in customers.

Lee Park, a spokesman for the state Gaming Commission, said the drop in revenue is not reason for concern. Between January through May, total lottery revenue, including for traditional lottery games, was down 3.2 percent compared to the same period in 2013 — largely because of a record Powerball jackpot in May 2013.

On Thursday, the commission put out a report that showed lottery sales and video lottery terminal net win totaled $9.2 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March. That led to a 4.2 percent increase in revenue for education.

"There are fluctuations, just like any business, but it's clear that the overall trend on VLT revenue has been trending up," Park said. "After a full decade of operation, VLT revenue increased statewide this year by 4.8 percent to a record total of $1.91 billion."

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/new-york/2014/06/06/racino-revenue-falls/10108271/

Friday, May 17, 2013

The Universal Delusion of Proponents

The proliferation of OTB Parlors in New York, carefully placed in low income neighborhoods, invited crime, sucked discretionary income from the local economy, eliminated local businesses no longer able to compete with the crime and impoverished wide swaths.

Incapable of learning from experience, lawmakers pursue predatory gambling and delude themselves, just as Massachusetts has, that somehow tourists will flock.

Cuomo deals LI out

Rejects OTB slots in Nassau, Suffolk

By BETH DEFALCO Post Correspondent
From Post Wire Services
Posted: 1:30 AM, May 17, 2013

ALBANY — Nassau and Suffolk county officials are pushing Gov. Cuomo to allow slot machines on Long Island as part of his plan to expand legalized gambling in the state.
Cuomo’s response? No dice.

Joseph G. Cairo, president and CEO of Nassau Off-Track Betting Corp., said the campaign to get state authorization for video slots at Nassau off-track-betting sites is part of a “multifaceted plan” to offer the public a “wider range of gaming options.”

While both counties for years have been lobbying for the proposal, Cuomo spokesman Matthew Wing said the idea wasn’t being discussed as part of casino-gambling talks with legislative leaders.

$PIN THE WHEEL: Gov. Cuomo and Oneida Indian Nation leader Ray Halbritter sign upstate-casino deal yesterday.

But GOP Sen. Dean Skelos of Nassau, the co-head of the state Senate, supports video slots at Belmont Park racetrack.

A spokesman said Skelos has had conversations with Nassau and Suffolk officials about offering slots and is reviewing a bill sponsored by two Long Island lawmakers, Democratic Assemblyman Steven Englebright and Republican Sen. Phil Boyle, promoting the issue.

The measure specifies that such a facility would include “superior consumer amenities and conveniences to encourage and attract the patronage of tourists and other visitors from across the region, state and nation.”

Cuomo’s vision to bring Las Vegas-style casinos to the Empire State includes putting three upstate but none in the Big Apple and its suburbs for at least five years. He argues that downstate casinos “would be eating at the buffet table of an upstate casino.”

Cuomo’s plan also calls for letting a gambling commission — not the Legislature — choose vendors and the sites. A video-slot-machine casino run by Nassau and Suffolk OTBs would allow the Legislature to keep control of patronage jobs at such a gambling emporium.

The state’s existing nine racinos, which offer video slot machines and electronic table games without live dealers, have grown quickly. Racino operators say it makes the most sense to expand their facilities into full-fledged, Vegas-style casinos.

The Resorts World Aqueduct racino in Queens has generated more than $1 billion in total revenue since opening in October 2011, pulling in nearly $2 million a day.

From April 2012 to April 2013, Resorts World posted an impressive, 17 percent revenue increase.
In comparison, slot revenues slid 14 percent in Atlantic City, NJ, and 7 percent in Connecticut and declined for a fifth straight month in Pennsylvania.

“Resorts World Casino has been nothing short of an absolute success for the Queens community,” said Democratic State Sen. James Sanders.

Meanwhile, Cuomo struck a deal with the Oneida Indian Nation to give it exclusive casino rights in central New York in exchange for the state treasury’s receiving 25 percent of slot revenue from the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona. The deal also settles a decades-old land dispute.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/cuomo_deals_li_out_Yq92kLPiuNUYeCvoxlXxcO?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Local

Long Island casino in play in NY negotiations

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Updated 1:44 pm, Thursday, May 16, 2013

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Support grew Thursday for a proposal to build a casino on Long Island with video slot machines as legislators and the governor negotiated behind closed doors to expand casino gambling in New York.

A legislative bill with majority party sponsors proposes a casino with 2,000 video slot machines run by the off-track betting agencies in Nassau and Suffolk counties. That could cement critical Republican support from the region's senators for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's statewide casino proposal.

"We are working closely with our state delegation to allow a regional video lottery terminal facility," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Thursday. "By operating this facility through a partnership between Nassau and Suffolk OTB, we will ensure that the maximum amount of revenue benefits Long Island residents."

Cuomo and legislative leaders are negotiating a plan to authorize three Las Vegas-style casinos. The idea of a Long Island slots-only casino runs counter to Cuomo's public proposal of placing only three casinos upstate.

"It's huge," Nassau County OTB President and CEO Joseph Cairo told The Associated Press. "The Senate has indicated to me it is part of the discussions of the overall (casino) package."

Cairo, who is also a county Republican committee first vice chairman, said he has spoken to Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos of Nassau County about the proposal, which has quietly been discussed for months in Albany. He said they spoke of a proposal to build a video slot casino on the Nassau-Suffolk line, where it could draw from Long Island's 3 million residents. He said another version would create two facilities, each with 1,000 video slot machines.

"I think the senator is conceptually behind it and I spoke to him many times," Cairo said. "I think it will be on the table for rest of the session."

Within hours of the AP publishing a story about the Long Island casino negotiations, Cairo put out statement contradicting his initial comments on the sensitive, closed-door talks. Cairo, through a spokesman, refused to say why he changed his position or if he had been contacted by the Cuomo administration, which strongly denies the proposal is part of negotiations.

Cuomo spokesman Matt Wing said the Cuomo administration didn't contact Cairo.

Asked about the role of the proposal in closed-door casino negotiations, Skelos' spokeswoman Kelly Cummings said: "We continue to discuss all aspect of the gaming and casino issues in the five weeks that remain in session."

The bill sponsored by Assemblyman Steven Englebright, a Suffolk County Democrat, states the facility would include "superior consumer amenities and conveniences to encourage and attract the patronage of tourists and other visitors from across the region, state and nation." He didn't respond to a request for comment.

The Senate bill is sponsored by Republican Sen. Phil Boyle of Long Island.

"Nassau and Suffolk have been pushing this proposal for several years," Wing said. "It has and is not part of any casino gaming negotiations or discussions."

In Albany, the closed-door "leaders meetings" between the governor and legislative leaders are secret. Major proposals often aren't announced until a deal is struck and quickly rushed to a vote in the Legislature without public hearings.

The proposal would be contrary to Cuomo's public demands that his gambling commission chose vendors; that operators, not the Legislature, be involved in choosing sites; and that privately run casinos be restricted to upstate.

A video slot machine casino run by Nassau and Suffolk OTBs would maintain the Legislature's hold on patronage jobs in the facility.

Most of the nine existing "racino" centers [Slot Barns], which offer video slot machines but not table games, have grown quickly. Their operators argue they are the best candidates to be turned into the privately run casinos Cuomo proposes for upstate and, five years later, the New York City area.

One of Albany's most powerful lobbyists, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, lobbies for Nassau and Suffolk counties OTBs and on state casino issues, according to his state lobbying registration. He didn't respond to a request for comment on the proposal.

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