Nassau gets $5 million from county Off Track Betting
Nassau County has budgeted $20 million this year from the Nassau OTB's video-lottery terminal revenue at Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct in Queens. Credit: Nancy Borowick
Nassau Regional Off Track Betting Corp. has paid Nassau County $5 million in profits from nearly 600 dedicated video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, but Nassau's fiscal control board expressed concern that OTB's payment timeline could contribute to a shortfall in the county budget.
OTB paid Nassau $5 million on Aug. 15 and agency officials said they plan to make same-sized payments on Nov. 15, Feb. 15, and May 15.
OTB General Counsel Arthur Walsh laid out the payment schedule to Nassau County Attorney Jared Kasschau in a June 21 letter. Walsh said the money will be paid subject to OTB, "finalizing its accounting records and calculation of profitability” for VLTs earmarked for Nassau OTB at Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct.
However, officials from the county’s fiscal control board and comptroller's office warned the final payment in May would be too late to count as 2019 revenue. Nassau has budgeted $20 million from Nassau OTB in this year's budget.
“The fourth quarterly payment will be remitted to the County on or before May 15, 2020, which is too late for it to be recognized as revenue in 2019,” NIFA officials said in a midyear report published in August.
How much Nassau is owed, and when the money is due, flummoxed county officials as they made budget projections for VLT profits over the past two years.
Nassau has received $3 million in VLT profits for each of the past three years under terms of a letter OTB sent to the county and its control board, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, in 2016. The annual payment was to escalate to $20 million by 2019, according to the letter.
But the county has received less than its budgeted amount in the past.
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