Richiebee, have you read the times?

[girly]

Here is a copy of the editorial in todays Times online I can\'t se the author\'s name, but it\'s interesting.

Editorial
New York's Gambling Dens
             
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Published: November 24, 2007
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is already famous for getting rid of the smoke in New York City's bars, has now taken on gambling. The mayor's target is the city's Off-Track Betting parlors, which were established more than 35 years ago to reroute profits from illegal back-room bookies to the state government. The misnamed parlors were also intended to offer a convenient alternative for bettors who could not get to the tracks.


 These bleak establishments rake in $1 billion a year, but little of it stays in the city. The state and the racing industry siphon off most of the revenue from these gambling relics. So when Mr. Bloomberg heard that the off-track parlors would need city money to survive, he rightly offered to help turn out the lights.

Shutting down the city's more than 60 OTB offices appeals to Mr. Bloomberg on both financial and moral grounds. Put simply, he believes that the city should not be asked to sustain a system that encourages people to squander the rent money or, worse, their lives.

The only big question here is whether the loss of Off-Track Betting could hurt New York's beleaguered horse racing industry. The tracks and horse breeders would surely lose revenue if the Internet or some other method failed to replace the present system. And quite a few politicians would lose control over quite a few patronage jobs. But these are tired, inefficient operations that gain no charm with the passing years.

Mr. Bloomberg's timing could not be better. State officials are trying to determine how to redo the racing industry and its betting franchises by the end of this year.

This will not be easy. The New York Racing Association, or N.Y.R.A., which operates the state's tracks at Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct, wants to continue running things, despite years of scandal, inefficiency and financial troubles. Competitors for what should be an immensely lucrative contract have emerged, but an analysis by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's office makes it clear that there are no angels in the running for this high-stakes plum.

One proposal favored by the governor would give the new contract to an improved N.Y.R.A. for 30 years, which is much too long. Mr. Spitzer's archrival, the State Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, appears to be looking in a different direction for somebody to run the tracks and the video lottery terminals.

The situation is a mess, but it is not Mr. Bloomberg's mess. For him, the issue is whether OTB's gambling parlors are of such importance to the city that they deserve city funds. The answer is clearly no. As the mayor rightly put it, "This city has too many other things to do with its money."

[richiebee]

Thank you, Girly.

I am not so concerned about Mayor Mike\'s views about OTB. As an independently
wealthy man who seems to be beholden to neither the Democratic or Republican
Party, he probably has less need to enrich himself through the continued
operation of what has historically been a major patronage mill. (The Times
does not mention probably the worst moment in the history of OTB, when David
Dinkins appointed Hazel Dukes, a major player in the NAACP who had no prior
experience with racing and gaming, as the head of OTB). I agree with most of
what Mayor Mike says, but think that there is room for one large, well run,
upscale OTB facility in each of the five boroughs

Mayor Mike\'s comments concern me more because he is currently about 8/5 to
become Governor Mike in 3 years and as such would have a hand in all the
State\'s racing affairs, not just the OTBs.

The New York Mayor I am most concerned with right now is a former one who IMO
absolutely must be prevented from taking residence in the White House in January
2009. My humble opinion is that a \"Rudy and Judy\" White House will have a lot of
Americans saying \"You know, George W. Bush was not so bad...\"

[girly]

I am in a bit of a quandary, because I don\'t like going to the OTBs at all, though there are a few in my area that are actually nice-they are in restaurant/clubs. I wish they would go on line- NYRA seems like too much trouble, and the other on line establishments are all proprietary with certain tracks so there is little free choice. What\'s a girl to do I ask you?

[Lost Cause]

Hey Girly,
just to let you know that NYCOTB is on line and running pretty well..When you are at the NYCOTB website you will be able to enter the online wagering screen.
Give it a shot.  It asks for you account number and your white card pin number and you\'re in.

[girly]

Thank you so much! I will give it a try and see what I can do with that!

[girly]

I appreciate the suggestion, unfortunately, since I live upstate, it\'s the same hassle as NYRA, getting withdrawals by mail. I guess I will wait and see if Capitol OTB finally gets their act together and goes on line as they have been promising for a year now. Thank you, Lost Cause