Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Paterson reached the finish line Sunday on a deal to save Off-Track Betting, to the delight of Big Apple racing fans and 1,500 workers who will keep their jobs.
The pact will call for a new state-controlled corporation to run OTB, pending action by both houses of the state Legislature today, the mayor and governor said.
All 68 OTB outlets in the city will be open for business today, Bloomberg said.
“Although the negotiations went down to the wire, they produced an agreement that truly belongs in the winner’s circle,” said Bloomberg, who had threatened to take City Hall completely out of the horse-betting business.
In the tentative deal reached last night, the city will rent cable channels 71 and 73 to the new state OTB operation for $3.25 million annually for the next three years.
The city will also continue to receive a surcharge on bets placed at Belmont and Aqueduct racetracks – a total that amounted to $4.25 million in 2007, according to Gov. Paterson.
“The finalization of this agreement is a win for the state, a win for the city of New York, and a win for the people whose livelihoods depend on a well-run OTB,” Paterson said.
The run-up to the final deal caused considerable political acrimony between Paterson and Bloomberg.
In Paterson’s prepared statement, he thanked Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, but didn’t mention Bloomberg.
The mayor’s statement simply thanked “state leaders” and didn’t mention Paterson by name.
The deal fell well short of the $18 million in annual payments that Bloomberg had wanted.
Before last night’s deal, racing fans and employees nervously played ponies during what could have been the last day of OTB.
When news of the deal crossed the finish line, fans cheered like they had a winning ticket in their hands.
“I’m very happy, I’m very excited. I’m the happiest guy at O’Neil’s!” said Brian Lassey, 31, a Con Edison worker playing the ponies at O’Neil’s restaurant in Maspeth, which doubles as an OTB parlor.
“Now I can just come down the street from my house, have a good lunch and lose and win a couple of dollars every day.”
The deal also prompted a huge sigh of relief for OTB employees who feared a shutdown and loss of employment.
“The mood of everyone at OTB is through the roof!” said Steve Simmons, 45, a security guard at the OTB on West 72nd Street in Manhattan.
Middle Village resident Ray Zerrenner, 50, said the high price of gasoline makes even short trips to Belmont and Aqueduct a hardship.
“That’s great. I’m glad they came to an agreement!” said Zerrenner at O’Neil’s Sunday.
“It was hard to believe I wouldn’t be able to make a bet anymore without going to Belmont, especially with the price of gas going up. I even walked here.”
Additional reporting by Anne Wilner, Christina Carrega and David K. Li in New York