New York City OTB needs Bailout

According to the New York City Off-Track Betting Corp, it’s T-minus two days and counting before the bankrupt operator of horse-race gambling sites plans to shut everything down unless the state Senate get up off the fence and passes the legislation necessary to keep it in business.

Exerpts of the letter were printed in business week where OTB Chief of Staff Sylvia Hamer wrote to Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday that OTB “intends to discontinue all business operations and shut down each and all of its facilities”, adding, “The corporation will have exhausted all unrestricted funds available to continue its operations beyond that date unless circumstances materially change.”

As reported in Business Week, an emailed response from Austin Shafran, spokesman for the Senate Majority Conference said today, “Right now, there are concerns with the legislation proposed by the governor, and if he wants to secure passage, he will have to secure 32 votes among the 61 members of the Senate before the bill can be acted on,”

To me, the real victims are not the executives here, but those industry professionals and their families as an estimated 800 jobs will be lost in the blink of an eye. With the economy being the way it is, you have to feel for those folk.