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Will off-track betting attract bettors beyond the stereotypical old men in rumpled clothing? The NYC Off-Track Betting Corporation is hoping that a makeover will attract more customers, telling the SUN it will "break down the barriers that exist for people to try sports racing."
A study found that OTB is underutilized (PDF) and needs to grow in order for it to continue to give the city and state revenue. NYC OTB president Raymond Casey explained, "An OTB parlor built 30 years ago is not an environment welcoming to some people. It's not a look I'm particularly proud of. … The demographic we have now is not the demographic for the future."
Here are some of the examples of the OTB making itself more accessible: Allowing bets online by fall; betting by cellphone or Blackberry; creating new OTB parlors that have flat panel TVs and nicer decor; freestanding betting kiosks that go in bars (according to the Daily News, the kiosks would be interactive, much like Keno or video lottery). And young people with disposable income, look out: The OTB is looking for you (especially you ladies).
And this weekend, the OTB is setting up a tent in Times Square for bets during the Belmont races.
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every neighborhood i've ever lived in has had an OTB in it and they are the most depressing places i have ever seen. just pure spiritual damnation!
So they have a cable channel that shows the races, and I think it's possible to bet online, but I have no idea how legal / illegal that ish is. But OTB could do well with that.
wow, otb is going to make it real easy to piss away a lot of money.
OTB: Legal.
State Lotto: Legal.
Poker: Very illegal
ahem. hypocrites.
Because remember kids: Betting isn't bad if the state's the bookie.
I would recommend that the OTB have a door policy: don't let anyone in. Especially Tim from the Strand Bookstore thread (a few posts down), he's an idiot. Have a discreet VIP section. Allow reservations, but make them impossible to get, too. Business will be booming in no time - nobody wants to go to an OTB that wil let people like themselves in!
goddamn, let's just disneyfy everything.
fuck this city
i was kind of into the whole dirty old man in training thing (and i'm up $9 this year!)
Who's down wit' OTB?
"The demographic we have now is not the demographic for the future."
I guess that just means the current clientele, rife as it is with winos, derelicts, and old-timers, has something of an expiration date.
There are a number of OTB restaurants that are basically your run of the mill/non-offensive bar with flat screen TVs at every booth & table and a betting window. The OTB should focus on expanding these venues.
And yes, you can watch OTB on cable and there are plenty of places where you can have an online account. OTB currently only has old school phone betting with their accounts but is getting ready to roll out online access.
The plus of the venue is that you can see any race at any track, on cable you can see the local track (Belmont or Aqueduct depending on which one is currently open) and then cycle through the tracks still running after the local race day.
The one in Park Slope exemplifies the problem. I don't have a problem -- and yes I could quit anytime -- but when I went in there to lay down my derby bet, I couldn't wait to get out. It needs a thorough modernization.
classy OTB? isn't that an oxy moron?
The OTB should branch into Wii Tennis.
"A study found that OTB is underutilized and needs to grow in order for it to continue to give the city and state revenue."
That should be reworded. "A study found that OTB is underutilized (PDF) and needs to grow in order for it to continue to rip off suckers."
Great. One more front in the assault against anything with any hint of personality. God forbid anyone who's not in the prime consumer demographic should congregate anywhere in the city. Sorry the OTBs aren't sanitized enough for you people.
Take heart, though, they're destroying Coney Island and I'm sure you'll love whatever shiny, expensive chain bullshit they put in its place.
"The demographic we have now is not the demographic for the future."
What - so disheveled elderly men screaming at televsions ["come on, number 4! Win damn you!! Dammit, they should send you to the glue factory"] don't have a future?
Uh, wait.... um OTB may have a point there - those guys do have an annoying tendency to die of TB or chronic liver disease.
I guess they want younger railbirds, who won't die on them.
But, if they want to attract the ladies to the OTB parlors, they might have to do a little more than drive out the old men with the crumpled racing forms and sweat stained overcoats.
They might want to add public restrooms to their betting halls - cause that whole "going in the corner and peeing in that bottle in the paper bag" thing just isn't going to work for the women!
otb should be closed down. it's a depressant to any thriving neighborhood and it devalues the worth of everything around it.
it also is a magnet for the dregs of society.
C'mon...just walk past any OTB, in any neighborhood...look at the people hanging around outside and inside, there's no way you can tell me those people aren't winners.