Residents of Baldwin bet at Nassau OTB which must be open every day of the year without religious preference. Brian Curran may go to church anytime he wishes and we must be able to bet at Nassau OTB every day of the year. We can buy a NY Lottery Ticket every day of the year and play the slot machines every day of the year.
Brian Curran's lates mailing says in part, "Brought Easter baskets to St. Christopher's Roman Catholic Church in Baldwin to help the less fortunate this Easter season."
Not all Baldwin (or Nassau County) residents are Roman Catholic or Christians
Not all Christians celebrate Easter Sunday or Palm Sunday on the same Sunday.
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Confidential > Stop
scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
Off Track Betting to push for Palm Sunday opening
State Racing Law prohibits live racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday. By extension, the state Racing and Wagering Board has ruled that OTBs may not conduct business, either.
But OTB leaders say they're losing several million dollars worth of wagering, a portion of which goes back to the cash-strapped state and county governments.
"It's going to be part of our legislative agenda this year," Capital Region OTB President John Signor said. "In my view it's a no-brainer. It's very competitive out there. By not allowing it you're driving bettors to out-of-state wagering sites."
Non-New York thoroughbred tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne conduct Palm Sunday racing along with The Meadowlands in New Jersey where harness racing is held. New York bettors should be allowed to wager on those races at OTBs or at New York racetrack simulcast venues, Signor said.
In 2003, New York City Off Track Betting challenged the law and stayed open on Palm Sunday, generating about $1.5 million in handle. However, the Racing and Wagering Board said the entity didn't obtain approval to alter its plan of operation and imposed a $5,000 fine.
The next year, New York City OTB formally asked for approval to change its plan of operation and was denied.
"We have not tested it since then," President Raymond Casey said. "If you have a specific directive from a regulator you need to obey that."
But with the state facing a projected $15 billion budget deficit, others say it's time to revisit the matter. "I've been an advocate for more than 30 years to have betting on Palm Sunday," Catskill Regional OTB President Donald Groth said. "It would be one small step to increase business."
The Racing and Wagering Board's makeup has undergone major changes since 2003 including a new chairman, John Sabini, who took office last August. Spokesman Joseph Mahoney said that no one has brought the matter before the board this year.
"There's been no recent legal analysis about this," he said. "We're not bound by previous decisions. If the issue was raised, we would conduct a review and decide based upon the relevant information."
The Palm Sunday debate is one more example of the way state leaders are turning to gambling as a way to solve New York's fiscal woes. In December, Gov. David Paterson proposed putting video lottery terminals at Belmont Park in addition to Aqueduct, where Buffalo-based Delaware North Companies is scheduled to operate a 4,500-machine racino.
In addition to VLTs, the Lottery Division has talked with the governor about expanding gaming to include electronic table games such as poker, blackjack and 21 that are very similar to traditional forms of casino gambling.
Several years ago, Senator Bill Larkin, R-New Windsor, introduced legislation (S-1199) that would have overturned the Palm Sunday provision. However, it got bottled up and died in committee in 2005.
"It kept getting more and more opposition from people who don't like gambling," spokesman Steve Casscles said.
The current financial crisis could change that, however.
Jackson Leeds is a part-time cashier for Nassau Regional Off Track Betting on Long Island. As a taxpayer advocate, he says it's incumbent on the state to allow OTBs to stay open on Palm Sunday.
"Nobody has any money," he said. "The state should be glad to allow it. It's the universal common denominator --cash."
Please call 516-561-8216 and or email curranb@assembly.state.ny.us and tell Brian Curran
that NY and Nassau County must not impose their religious preference upon us all.
Contact Information:
District Office
Albany Office
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