ny pml sec 109 violates the rights of nassau county bettors et al secured by ny const art 1 sec 3
ny pml sec 109 is vague , indefinite and or overly broad.
and he audits nassau otb
you know nassau otb is here to serve bettors. when tracks are running nassau otb must be open to take bets
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Thomas P. DiNapoli
New York State Comptr
N.Y. / REGION | IN BRIEF
IN BRIEF; Control of Nassau OTB Shifting to Democrats
A court decision cleared the way for Nassau Democrats last week to take control of the Nassau Off-Track Betting Corporation, a rich source of patronage jobs parceled out among Nassau Republicans for years.
The state Court of Appeals declined to issue a temporary injunction barring a Democratic county legislator, Roger Corbin of Westbury, from voting to name two Democratic members to the OTB board. Mr. Corbin's vote was essential for the Democrats, who have 10-to-9 legislative majority.
The Republicans had contended that Mr. Corbin could not vote because he is employed by the New York City OTB. They won a state Supreme Court decision upholding their position and stalling the appointments of two Democrats, Thomas DeJesu and Christopher Wright. But the Appellate Division overturned the ruling, leading to the Republicans' unsuccessful appeal to the high court.
Mr. Wright and Mr. DeJesu were to replace Gregory Peterson, the OTB chairman and former supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, and Joseph Bentivegna. The third seat is vacant.
A court decision cleared the way for Nassau Democrats last week to take control of the Nassau Off-Track Betting Corporation, a rich source of patronage jobs parceled out among Nassau Republicans for years.
The state Court of Appeals declined to issue a temporary injunction barring a Democratic county legislator, Roger Corbin of Westbury, from voting to name two Democratic members to the OTB board. Mr. Corbin's vote was essential for the Democrats, who have 10-to-9 legislative majority.
The Republicans had contended that Mr. Corbin could not vote because he is employed by the New York City OTB. They won a state Supreme Court decision upholding their position and stalling the appointments of two Democrats, Thomas DeJesu and Christopher Wright. But the Appellate Division overturned the ruling, leading to the Republicans' unsuccessful appeal to the high court.
Mr. Wright and Mr. DeJesu were to replace Gregory Peterson, the OTB chairman and former supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, and Joseph Bentivegna. The third seat is vacant.
DiNapoli: New York's OTBs are headed toward insolvency
ALBANY — Gambling at the state's off-track betting parlors continues to fall, an audit by Comptroller Tom DiNapoli concluded, and the decline is threatening insolvency that would have ripple effects on local governments and the New York Racing Association — both of which rely on payments from OTBs.
An audit by DiNapoli noted that the overall handle — the amount of money wagered — at New York's five remaining regional OTB authorities fell from $817 million in 2009 to $664.3 million in 2013. The decline reflects a nationwide decline in horse betting and a drop in racing viewership.
“The viability of OTBs is in financial jeopardy,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Statutory payment requirements, a downturn in racing interest and major fee increases have each contributed to this plight. As competition for gambling dollars intensifies in New York, the state must reexamine the roles of OTBs. Some localities rely on this revenue to help balance their budgets and already feel the effects of this decline.”
The OTB authority covering New York City went bankrupt in 2010, after state legislators rejected a bailout package. The five remaining OTBs — Western, Capital District, Catskill, Nassau and Suffolk — have changed their operations to include advance deposit wagering, which lets people place bets online or by phone, and, in Western New York, to open a video slot parlor.
DiNapoli recommended Nassau and Suffolk counties open such slot parlors, and suggested the OTBs begin collectively negotiating with tracks to achieve better rates for the rights to broadcast signals of their races.
The OTBs coordinated their response to DiNapoli's audit and largely agreed with the comptroller's findings and recommendations — some of which require legislative action.
“The New York Regional OTBs distributed over $57 million to the racing industry during 2013. OTBs do not lose money, but in fact, are required to distribute in excess of revenues received. With the legislative proposals presented, New York OTB can continue to operate for the benefit of ALL participants of OTB revenues,” the Catskill OTB said in a statement.
Here is the audit: http://politi.co/1VdC2v0
Here is a report: http://politi.co/1KCwAfd
CORRECTION: The original version of this article misstated the amount of the handle in 2013. It was $664.3 million, according to DiNapoli's audit, not $64.3 million.
The Republicans said Mr. Peterson would remain as OTB president under a contract that lasts through January and would remain in control of staffing decisions until then. About a dozen appointed patronage positions are at stake.
Republicans noted that Mr. Wright was treasurer of the fund-raising committee for the Democratic presiding officer, Judy Jacobs, and that Mr. DeJesu was related to the Nassau Democratic Party chairman, Tom DiNapoli. John Rather
oller
Thomas P. DiNapoli is the 54th Comptroller of the State of New York who’s known for his integrity, independence and steadfast leadership.
Since taking office in 2007, Tom DiNapoli has aggressively fought misuse of public resources, strengthened one of the nation’s top public pension funds, and consistently spoken out against fiscal gimmicks, imprudent actions and government inefficiency.
His life of public service started when he was elected as a trustee of the Mineola Board of Education, becoming the first 18-year-old in New York State to hold public office. He’s been making government more accountable and transparent to the people for more than 35 years.
The New York State Comptroller manages the State’s $178.6 billion pension fund, audits the spending practices of all State agencies and local governments, oversees the New York State and Local Retirement System, critically reviews the New York State and City budgets, and approves billions in State contracts and spending.
A diligent fiduciary of the State pension fund, Comptroller DiNapoli continues changing the way the fund operates to increase transparency and establish strong internal controls, ensuring the strongest investment performance and ethical operations. He:
- instituted the most stringent reporting requirements on investments, fees and other information;
- barred investment firms contributing to his campaign from doing business with the State pension fund; and
- provided a leading voice in getting the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose tough new rules on “pay to play” to prevent improper influence on investment decisions.
Under the Comptroller’s leadership, the pension fund has increased opportunities for women and minority firms throughout its portfolio of investments by:
- expanding the pension fund’s Emerging Manager program into each of the fund’s main asset classes; and
- accelerating capital to new programs within these asset classes.
Tom DiNapoli also protects public funds from waste, fraud and abuse. Since 2007, he’s identified billions in misuse, waste and savings. He completed a five-year school accountability project that audited all 733 school districts and BOCES in the State. In 2012, he launched a series of audits that found widespread abuse of public funds by special education contractors, resulting in several criminal referrals, felony arrests and restitution. And as an Assemblyman, he helped draft and pass stronger school district accountability laws in response to the scandals that exposed the theft of millions of taxpayer dollars on Long Island.
Stop scratching on holidays
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.
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.
Easy money.
Comptroller DiNapoli examines State, city and local finances and provides an independent, credible analysis of government finances. In January 2013, he launched a Fiscal Monitoring System to rate communities on their fiscal condition, sending an early warning to those in trouble. He also sheds light on the issues that cause communities to face fiscal stress in today’s tough economy. Tom also consistently advocates for budget and debt reform to give New York State a more secure fiscal future.
Prior to becoming Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli represented the 16th Assembly District in northwestern Nassau County for two decades. During his tenure, he:
- chaired the Local Governments Committee, the Consumer Affairs Committee, the Ethics Committee, the Governmental Operations Committee and the Environmental Conservation Committee;
- sponsored legislation that helped Nassau County to emerge from serious fiscal distress and restore fiscal responsibility; and
- earned a reputation as one of the State’s leading voices on environmental issues.
Prior to his election to the Assembly, he was a manager in the telecommunications industry. He holds a master’s degree from The New School University’s Graduate School of Management and Urban Professions. A lifelong resident of Nassau County, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history magna cum laude from Hofstra University in Hempstead.
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