Suffolk Off-Track Betting furloughs most workers
A packed parking lot at Jake's 58 in Islandia on Friday, March 13, 2020. Credit: James Carbone
Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting has furloughed most of its 300 employees, but the OTB's president and vice president still are collecting their salaries as the agency copes with the closure of betting parlors and Jake's 58 Casino Hotel in Islandia due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the "vast majority" of employees are being furloughed, some essential employees, including Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. President Phil Nolan and Vice President Anthony Pancella III, are collecting their salaries, agency spokesman Jon Schneider confirmed. Nolan is paid $205,400 annually, and Pancella makes $195,000 a year, Schneider said.
In a letter to employees, Nolan and Pancella said: "It had been our hope that we could afford to pay our entire workforce until such time as we were able to safely resume operations or access federal aid meant to retain workers."
They said the betting agency, which has been in bankruptcy since 2011, was not approved for the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans to small businesses.
When OTB reopens, employees can return to their current rate of pay and maintain their seniority, and accrued time, according to the letter.
Employees can also draw down unused paid time off before applying for unemployment insurance, Nolan and Pancella wrote.
"And without any revenue or prospect of reopening within the next 30 days, our financial position has deteriorated," Nolan and Pancella said in the April 16 letter announcing furloughs.
The Nassau and Suffolk OTBs are public benefit corporations that provide profits to the counties.
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