Call this guy and tell him to see that all the OTBs in NY are open 365 days of the year just like the NY Lottery.
HI-
Thanks for
the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy,
if you give me a mailing address.
Claude
Solnik
(631)
913-4244
Long
Island
Business News
2150
Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
Home > LI
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.
A Wall Street rating service Friday revised its outlook on Nassau
County's long-term debt from "negative" to "stable," citing progress in
reducing the budget deficit.
But Fitch Ratings, which downgraded Nassau's credit rating
in June 2013 from "A+" to "A," also noted that the county has limited
financial flexibility, weak financial reserves and is dependent on
"economically sensitive" sales tax revenues.Fitch maintained its "A" rating on Nassau's $1.6 billion in long-term debt, noting the county's improved relationship with the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a state monitoring board that controls the county's finances, and its reduced reliance on cash flow borrowing.
"The 'A' rating and stable outlook incorporate Fitch's expectation that the county will continue to make modest progress in sustainable deficit reduction to maintain a stable, albeit tightly balanced financial profile," Fitch said in the report.
County Executive Edward Mangano said the "improved outlook reflects the progress government leaders have made in coming together in a bipartisan manner to address decades of poor fiscal policies."
Fitch said Nassau is facing serious financial challenges on multiple fronts. It said that in 2014, the county is projecting a $48.5 million decrease in sales tax revenues compared with projections. Nassau also is projecting $19.6 million less in state and federal aid reimbursements and $18.6 million in higher salaries due to contractual increases compared with 2013.
Partially offsetting the reduced revenues and cost increases are $20.3 million in debt service savings; $12.9 million in lower-than-anticipated fringe benefit expenses and $14.2 million in new school speed-camera revenue, Fitch said.
The agency also cited a bill passed this year by the State Legislature that aims to overhaul Nassau's tax grievance system. County officials say the measure would require commercial property owners who grieve their taxes to pay into an escrow fund pending the outcome of their appeals, saving Nassau $80 million per year,
Some business owners expressed concern that the plan will drive up taxes, while school district officials questioned the impact it would have on school budgets. Mangano has said the districts would receive 100 percent of the taxes they are requesting from commercial property owners.
In May, Standards & Poor's Rating Services affirmed its "A+" long-term rating on the county's debt while Moody's Investors Service maintained its "A2" rating on the county's general obligation debt.
Some business owners expressed concern that the plan will drive up taxes, while school district officials questioned the impact it would have on school budgets. Mangano has said the districts would receive 100 percent of the taxes they are requesting from commercial property owners.
In May, Standards & Poor’s Rating Services affirmed its “A+” long-term rating on the county’s debt while Moody’s Investors Service maintained its “A2” rating on the county’s general obligation debt.
OPEN ON 1ST PALM SUNDAY, OTB RAKES IN $2M - NY ...
www.nydailynews.com/.../open-1st-palm-sunday-otb-rakes-2m-...
Apr 14, 2003 - BY Jerry Bossert ... Betting made history yesterday, taking bets on Palm Sunday. ... Casey also said NYCOTB may open on Easter Sunday.
Daily News
Off Track Betting to push for Palm Sunday opening
www.saratogian.com/.../off-track-betting-to-push-for-pal...
Jan 23, 2009 - SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Off Track Betting officials say the plan to ... on Palm Sunday," Catskill Regional OTB President Donald Groth said.
The Saratogian
HI-
Thanks for
the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy,
if you give me a mailing address.
Claude
Solnik
(631)
913-4244
Long
Island
Business News
2150
Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
Home > LI
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.
Crist: New York restrictions defy belief | Daily Racing Form
Nov 25, 2011 - DRF Login Loading. ... By Steven Crist · Print · Email. It's only 126 days until Palm Sunday and seven more until Easter, more than enough time ...
A Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Suffolk Regional ...
www.suffolkotb.com/pages/board_minutes/2012/may2012.pdfMay 24, 2012 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ... There were 13 dark days this April, including Palm Sunday and Easter ... The comparison of OTB Regions shows that overall statewide handle was down by.[PDF]Download PDF - Suffolk OTB
www.suffolkotb.com/pages/board_minutes/2013/may2013.pdfMay 23, 2013 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ... from 2012, primarily due to the fact that Palm Sunday and Easter fell in March ...
Suffolk red-light camera revenue jumps nearly ... - Newsday
www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk-red-light-camera-reven...
2 days ago - Revenue from Suffolk County's red-light camera program jumped nearly 80 ... By DAVID M. SCHWARTZ david.schwartz@newsday.com
Newsday
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The intersection of Moriches Road
and Lake Avenue in St. James is one of the 50 intersections that Suffolk
Country has proposed to install red-light cameras based on accident
data collected by the county. (Feb. 26, 2013) Photo
Credit: Heather Walsh
Revenue from Suffolk County's red-light camera program jumped nearly 80
percent in 2013 to more than $17 million, as the county added new
intersections to the program and a $30 fee to tickets, according to a
county report.
The number of accidents at the 100 intersections with
cameras declined an average of 5.4 percent, compared with the 12 months
before the cameras were installed, according to the report by the
Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency.Accidents involving injuries dropped 10.6 percent, while side-impact accidents fell 30 percent.
However, rear-end collisions rose 9.3 percent as drivers braked to avoid tickets, officials said. In 2012, such collisions jumped nearly 20 percent.
"It's better that there be a fender bender in the rear than an accident in the middle of the intersection -- those are the accidents that went down," said Paul Margiotta, executive director of Suffolk's traffic and parking agency, which runs the Red Light Safety Program.
Suffolk inaugurated the program in July 2010, after the State Legislature authorized 50 intersections each in Suffolk and Nassau counties to have cameras. In 2012, the counties were allowed to expand to 100 intersections each.
Last year, Suffolk installed 115 new cameras and removed 35 from areas where tickets had decreased. Margiotta said removals were a sign that cameras were boosting safety, as more drivers stopped at red lights.
But some county lawmakers criticize the program as a revenue grab. Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) called it "taxation by citation. It's clearly about the revenue."
Suffolk issued 293,425 tickets in 2013, at $80 each in fines and fees, for revenue of $17.4 million, according to the report.
In 2012, the county issued 208,648 tickets at $50 apiece, raising $9.67 million. Revenue that year dropped 24 percent compared with 2011 as motorists became more aware of cameras at dozens of intersections, officials said.
The state requires Suffolk and Nassau to file reports on the performance of their red-light camera programs every June. Suffolk County has attributed its late filing to delays in getting traffic accident data from the state.
Nassau plans to file its report for 2013 by the end of the month, county spokesman Brian Nevin said. Chris Mistron, Nassau's coordinator of traffic safety, said "state DMV data is lagging" and isn't yet available for the county.
Suffolk paid Xerox State and Local Solutions, the Maryland-based vendor that operates the program, $5.2 million last year, slightly less than in 2012.
Under the original contract, Xerox collected about 58 percent of the ticket revenue. The county in November 2012 renegotiated the contract so Suffolk receives 58 percent of the ticket revenue, plus the administrative fees.
Xerox referred questions last week to Suffolk County.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano had to dismiss $2.4 million in tickets in August after residents complained about malfunctioning cameras and poor notification at camera sites. Some residents have called for the program to be ended altogether.
With Robert Brodsky
But some county lawmakers criticize the program as a revenue grab. Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) called it "taxation by citation. It's clearly about the revenue."
Suffolk issued 293,425 tickets in 2013, at $80 each in fines and fees, for revenue of $17.4 million, according to the report.
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