out of state racing because we .........
On Wednesday, NYRA announced that the Belmont Park fall schedule will consist of 27 days, eight fewer than intended. The meet will begin Sept. 18 – a week later than planned – and run through Nov. 1, with racing conducted mostly four days a week. NYRA did not yet announce a schedule for the Aqueduct fall season.
Claude Solnik
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.
New York will not offer additional $300 in federal unemployment benefits
NEW YORK (WHEC) — Unemployed New Yorkers who were hoping to get the additional weekly benefits President Donald Trump promised a few weeks ago, are out of luck. The State of New York has to request the money to fund those payments from FEMA and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday, he will not be doing that.
Under the last stimulus package, the Federal Government was providing $600 weekly payments, on top of state benefits, to those who are out of work during the pandemic.
The payments ended at the end of July and when lawmakers in Washington couldn’t reach a deal to extend them, President Trump stepped in with an executive order that would provide $400 per week instead. The catch? States have to pay 25% ($100/week) of it.
“You cannot get water out of a stone, that is a fact and we have a $14 billion dollar deficit, and we can’t pay for it,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The estimated cost to New York State is $4.2 billion.
But FEMA has since clarified that it will allow states to count the existing unemployment payments they’re making toward the 25% share, meaning if a state signs up, unemployed workers could still get a $300 weekly payment.
Jennifer Lewke (News10NBC): "Under that plan, there'd be no additional cost for New York in order to offer the unemployed the $300, will you apply for that FEMA money to fund those payments?"
Gov. Andrew Cuomo: "I don't know what the feds most recent decision is, I don't know that any of it is legal. I don’t believe the whole executive order mechanism is legal. So, I think this is all an artificial construction for political reasons."
Gov. Cuomo says even if he thought the President’s order was legal, it requires too much leg-work.
“State's abilities to re-design their administration system (to offer the payments) is a virtual impossibility in a short period of time,” he added.
He also made it clear, he simply doesn’t trust the federal agency running the program.
“FEMA, I'd rather do business with the old time bookie on the street corner than do business with FEMA,” the governor said.
So, unemployed New Yorkers shouldn’t expect the additional federal payments, at least not under the President’s executive order.
If there is a legislative agreement reached in Washington over the next few months to extend benefits, that could change so you’re urged to continue certifying for benefits every week you are out of work.
No comments:
Post a Comment