While we weren't crazy about avoiding eye contact with the grumbling, chain-smoking masses outside the OTB on Delancey street, it looks even SADDER when it's dormant. But there's good news in today's Post for equine enthusiasts who happen to enjoy gambling: a Democratic state assemblyman and a Republican Senator are joining forces to resurrect off-track betting. more ›

The closures of over 50 OTB locations in the city meant bad news for, well, the kind of people who'd choose to spend their time in an OTB. But the government will be glad to know that the city's illegal bookies have seen business soar! "It's a big spike. I do a few hundred dollars in bets in a day to a few thousand," 42-year-old "Primo," who has been taking bets for over 20 years, told the Post. Just goes to show that hard work + time + an illegal business structure = success! more ›

A little OTB update: Yes, it's still dead and its employees have been put to pasture...except for CEO Gene Rayburn. Earlier this year, it was noted that Rayburn was being paid $125,000 a month and it turns out he's on payroll through January 14. The Daily News reports, per the governor's office, "Rayburn has stayed on to 'finish everything up.' The restructuring specialist is dealing with the outfit's remaining issues in bankruptcy court and is making sure money owed to various creditors and staffers is paid out... By the time he is through, Rayburn will have been paid at least $750,000 for six months on the job. His predecessor made $175,000 annually." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg is dancing on the grave of OTB! Back in 2008, he refused to allow the city to keep supporting OTB, and the shutdown threat was real until Governor Paterson agreed to have the state take over. Yesterday, the mayor said of the now-shutdown betting operation, "OTB did make money, but they demanded 120% of it go to support the racing industry. It's not the city's obligation, thank you very much." The Daily News explains, "The closure put more than 1,000 people out of work and forced the state to assume $100million in OTB debt - and $504 million in pension and benefits for OTB workers." more ›

The State Senate failed to pass a measure rescuing the city's Off Track Betting operation, which has struggled for years. The Times Union reports, "The 29 to 21 voted proceeded mostly on party lines, as leaders of the Senate Democratic conference pushed approval the bill, which was drafted by Gov. David Paterson and passed the Assembly late last month. The bill failed because it did not have 32 yes votes, the bare majority needed for passage." more ›

The beleaguered OTB might not be heading off to that great glue factory in the sky tomorrow. But also it might. Yesterday the board of the city's only legal bookie voted unanimously to shut the money-losing joints down on Friday as the State Senate had failed to vote on a bailout. But now it seems that the State Senate will reconvene on Tuesday to make a decision. So will the OTB wait it out to find out its fate next week? They aren't saying. Bloomberg reports that "Sylvia Hamer, OTB chief of staff, declined to say in a telephone interview if the organization planned to delay its plans." Suspense! more ›

The city's off-track betting operation says it'll be closing its locations this Friday, because the State Senate failed to vote on a bailout package. NYC OTB CEO Greg Rayburn said, "We've continued today to do two things. One is to prepare for the shutdown, if it's necessary. And that could come as early as this week. And two, to continue to talk to people in the Senate and explain to them what the provisions are in the bill, answer questions and urge them to come and act before Friday, because, realistically, once you close, you close." more ›

After numerous near-death experiences, OTB looks to be going down that road slowly, with 11 parlors expected to close by September. OTB has been climbing out of bankruptcy, but has been failing due to changes in demographics and lack of interest in the parlors. State Sen. Carl Kruger called the parlors "dark, filthy and unappetizing - a blight on the community." However, faithful frequenters see it differently. One better said, "It's sad. You grow attached to something and they take it away from you." With his midtown OTB closing, he will now have to trek to Yonkers to place his bets. more ›

What's the over/under on an outraged commenter flame-a-thon on this post? A reader sent in this photograph of a baby who was left unattended in his/her stroller outside an OTB facility in Bay Ridge. He tells us that 20 minutes after taking the initial picture, "The carriage was gone. There was no hovering parent type watching out the window that I could see. In all honesty, they might have nipped in for two minutes to collect a drunken uncle and to hand out bibles—regardless they shouldn't have left the child unattended on the street." No kidding—this is not Denmark. more ›

Sure, NYC's Off-Tracking Betting operation needs a firm hand, especially since it teetered near bankruptcy, but the state decided to keep it open for another year. But does the new guy running it really need to be paid $125,000 a month? more ›

The government has laid out some conditions now that they've agreed to keep the cash strapped organization open for another year. The rescue plan includes opening 600 “quick bet” kiosks in private sports bars, closing most of the OTB parlors and eventually laying off half of the 1,300 workers. Gov. Paterson said, “We will be helpful to them to the extent we can be,” and assured that no taxpayer dollars will go toward the funding. Betters are rejoicing at the news. One Washington Heights gambler said “It’s a great sport, and OTB is a great place to hang out.” However, others just wish it would go away for good. “I wish they could close it—I’d save money!” said better Joe Rizzo. “I don’t even know myself how much money I’ve lost here.” more ›

A day before its death sentence, the city's Off Track Betting Corporation voted to keep the bankrupt gambling agency open for another year. After thinking the OTB was dead, Gov. Paterson came to the rescue and agreed to a temporary plan that would "share the burden" of the OTBs debts and allow gamblers to place bets online. Over 1,300 jobs were at risk if the organization had closed as planned, and all OTB locations would have been shut down. Staten Island should be thrilled. more ›

Yesterday, the State Legislature adjourned without making a deal to save the city's Off-Track Betting establishments. While the city is ready to close the branches and lay off workers, the Daily News reports, "The question now, as one lobbyist says, is whether the city's OTB is 'really dead, or Freddy Krueger dead.'" Well, Governor Paterson thinks it's really dead. more ›

Gov. Paterson is planning to offer legislation today to bail out the Off Track Betting Corp. for one year. The Post reports the proposal would keep the OTB from having to make some payments to tracks, while requiring them to cut management and create new revenue sources. Paterson said, "It will address the problems for some period of time, but the feasibility of the program working, we have not found the solution. Basically what it does is it shares the burden." more ›

The struggling Off-Track Betting Corporation was given a stay of execution yesterday by the city, which granted them an extra week to try to avoid shutting down altogether. The OTB has been in serious financial troubles, having filed for bankruptcy last year and having laid off 1,300 workers already. They were expected to be forced to shut down completely by this Sunday without intervention from the State Assembly. more ›

After laying off 1,300 workers and wracking gamblers' nerves, the Off-Track Betting Corp. may actually get the state bailout they were hoping for. The OTB has said they would have to shut down by Sunday without a lifeline from the State Assembly, and the Assembly is working on a plan to help them out. According to the Daily News, state lawmakers are developing a plan that would thin out OTB management and cut the OTB's payments to the state's racing industry by about 10%. Assemblyman Gary Pretlow said, "We have to do something before the middle of next week, otherwise OTB goes out of business totally." more ›

Facing shutdown, the Off-Track Betting Corp. has come up with a Hail Mary to try to stay financially afloat: they have started pitching bar owners on installing betting machines on their sites. The OTB is in serious danger of permanently closing down all 66 of its city parlors unless it receives immediate funding from Albany before April 11. They've already laid off 1,300 employees, suspended six-figure pay, and riled up gambling senior citizens—and you mess with them at your peril. more ›

Now that the OTB has laid off 1,300 and threatened to close all 66 of its parlors, Staten Island's senior citizen gamblers are hoping Albany comes to the rescue. One OTB frequenter told the Staten Island Advance, "I think it's a blow to the industry and senior citizens. I think they're making a big mistake." Many flat out didn't believe the parlors could close, and one suggested that the OTB should get a bailout from President Obama. However, one gambler thinks closing may be a good idea, since "most people lost." That's including OTB, which has lost $45 million in the last five years. more ›

The city’s Off-track Betting board issued 1,350 pink slips Friday, and today it’s suspended six-figure pay to consultants and executives—but only after interrogation by reporters. "Until a compromise is forged that saves these jobs, we will suspend our pay," the city's OTB President Raymond Casey said in a statement, but documents revealed he planned to continue paying consultants hired to rescue the organization. According to the News, “Four consultants—two with ties to [OTB] Chairman Meyer Frucher—and two law firms stood to make an estimated $4.5 million through June,” even as scores of workers lost their jobs after the institution filed for bankruptcy, demanding a state bailout. Following inquiries by the tabloid, they’ve been cut off. more ›

In the past the city's Off-Track Betting board has been accused of making "hollow threats," but yesterday it followed through, laying off 1,300 employees. It says that if Albany doesn’t come through with financial aid, it will be forced to board up all of its 66 gambling parlors. Gov. Paterson is in favor of deferring its $3.7 million in debt, reports the News, but legislators—mired in their own battle to close the state’s $9 billion budget gap—seemed ready to let OTB sink, criticizing it for poor management and “unconscionable delays” in handing over financial records. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver sounded final in his condemnation of the betting institution and its employees: "We cannot reach a three-way agreement on it to keep them afloat," he said, speaking of talks with the state Senate and the governor. more ›

The Off-Track Betting board voted to close all 66 of its locations on April 11th, unless funding from Albany comes in. Their closing would put 1,300 OTB employees out of work, and Leonard Allen, president of Local 2021, tells the Daily News, "[OTB workers] feel like they're on death row, waiting for an execution." more ›

To keep tickets rolling out, NY off-track betting has tried appealing to the state and even hired sexy dancers—still, unless its bid for bankruptcy is approved the organization says it will be done for by the end of March, leaving 1,400 unemployed. The New York Racing Association, for whom OTB is an important customer, says it's "monitoring the situation closely" but another organization has dismissed the announcement as a "hollow threat." "NYC OTB used the same trick in 2008, the last time they went bankrupt," said New York Thoroughbred Breeders Executive Director Jeffrey Cannizzo. But Robert Garry, the OTB's chief financial officer, insists his organization will be broke by early April and in heavy deficit mid-month, reported the NY Daily News. This means the ticket stoopers might have to find real jobs, too! more ›

57-year-old Jesus Leonardo has long hair, a beard, and spends at least ten hours a day loitering in a midtown OTB. At first glance, he may look like all the other gambling deadbeats crumpling losing tickets in their yellowing fingers, but during the past decade Leonardo has netted nearly half a million dollars’ worth of winning tickets—without placing a single bet. In a must-read front page article in today's Times, Leonardo reveals everything about his work as a "stooper," collecting discarded tickets and running them through a ticket scanner "in a never-ending search for someone else’s lost treasure." "He’s a legend," says one OTB habituate. “Everyone knows that this is his turf, that all the tickets thrown out belong to him, period." That's right, nobody fucks with the Jesus. more ›

In its mission to reel in younger clientele, the Nassau County Regional Off-Track Betting location in Plainview is transforming its three-story "Race Palace" into a nightclub. Alongside the regularly televised racetrack programming, the evening will feature dancers and contortionists dispersed between three rooms for a night of what restaurateur Steven Carl tells Newsday is "good clean fun." more ›

This is why we can't have nice things, or dogs in bars: An elderly Queens man says his sex life was ruined (and so was his knee) after he tripped over an "unleashed and unrestrained" dog in a Kew Gardens pub in April. Irving Grossman, 81, is suing Austin's Steak and Ale House, which is popular with gamblers because it has its own Off-Track Betting window. That's exactly where Grossman was headed on that fateful spring day when his luck took a turn for the worse. more ›

OTB is really starting to resemble that schoolyard friend who keeps on losing a bet and immediately fires back, "Okay, how 'bout double or nothing?" In what he called an "unprecedented but necessary move," yesterday Governor Paterson issued an executive order authorizing Off-Track Betting to file for bankruptcy protection. Last year OTB was one of the forgotten beneficiaries in the Year of the Bailout, the money-bleeding agency rescued by the governor in a deal with the mayor. At its current pace, OTB would run out of money completely by next spring. Paterson said Tuesday's move was necessary to close failing parlors, and expand automated-betting systems to pay off the agency's mounting debts. The Times has an in-depth look as to just how much money the agency wastes by insisting on company cars for its city employees. One gray ponytailed OTB patron told the paper, “I tell you what my bookie in the Bronx don’t have this problem. He always has money. Nowhere else in the world does a bookie lose money.” more ›

A Tribeca resident should thank Lady Luck for suffering only minor injuries after falling 30 feet through a sidewalk grating on Murray Street on Saturday. According to a Chinese food deliveryman who witnessed the incident, Vincent Riggio, 59, exited the OTB parlor near Murray Street, "He had a cigar, he stepped on the platform and he fell. I looked down the hole. He was down there, squatting down. There was a lot of dust." more ›

Word is that some residents of Morris Park in the Bronx were not too happy when a vacant storefront transformed into an Off-Track Betting. On June 19th the Community Board's district manager, John Fratta, began receiving many angry phone calls from locals, after which he called the OTB offices to ask if they were opening a storefront in the neighborhood. They didn't know anything about it. By Monday, the confused community got some clarity when “We found out it was a movie, but they forgot to notify the neighborhood. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. The outcry was unbelievable.” Bronx native Nick Sandow is filming his movie Ponies in the area, so take a deep breath Morris Parkers, we'd wager that everything will be okay. And OTB, don't get any ideas, Senator Jeff Klein says, “It is incumbent on all of us to ensure new establishments speak to the community before opening their doors"—and from the sound of it, the natives don't fancy you too much. more ›

A last-minute deal was worked out between Governor David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to save Off-track Betting, but the road to the agreement was rocky. more ›