Council Member Pushes To Save OTB
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Council Member David Weprin and the Off-Track Betting union president, Leonard Allen, are pressing the state Legislature to save the gambling association from bankruptcy by renegotiating its contract.
Mr. Weprin said yesterday that the city’s OTB, though profitable, is stretched too thin by required payments to racetracks and the state racing association.
He called for a new plan that would tax net revenue rather than gross revenue, eliminating its current operating deficit.
“This will result in less money coming to the state and the city,” Mr. Weprin said. “But if they close down, the city and the state will lose all of that revenue.”
