UPDATE: NYC OTB HAS SIGNALS PULLED.. Left with NY, GG..
 

Unreal.

It really makes you wonder doesn't it?

It's not that they aren't accepting them.. they've been justifiably cut off. They likely won't have the MTH signal either. Signal after signal is going to cut them off.

No tickee, no shirtee.. as the saying goes.

Oh, I get it. I just hadn't really been paying too much attention and wanted to bet my Ju Jitsu Jax so I strolled over to the club and>>>stugots.

I agree. The life-line has to be cut.

Just checked NYC OTB;s website. No mention of not accepting Pimlico wagers.

They just started taking bets again. I was just there 25 minutes ago and they had signs plastered all over the joint saying they aren't taking bets. I come back to my desk and they are...

My disdain for the worst-run organization in the world continues to grow.

They deserve to have the signal pulled and NYRA should do the same (though I would guess legally NYRA cannot). They want to take the wagers on the track, they just don't want to pay the track for the service. Let them go belly up so the legislature can give the operation to NYRA. No pay, no play!

If you are in NYC then you likely can get a NYRA internet account and get track odds and cash back. Screw OTB!

No pay bill . No lights .

Even a 'traditionalist' like me gave up on NYCOTB (close to 2 years now).

It was hard to do:

1) loved the SMOKE FILLED enviroment -- that's right, NO SMOKING laws NOT ENFORCED

2) loved all the douchebags that frequented the place(s) -- hard not to get into an argument (or two) just about every visit

3) see above

Anyone not betting online with TS (or something of the sort) is doing old fashioned wagering.

I don't have any first hand experience with them, but from a distance, it's hard to imagine a more screwed up organization. Case after case of mistakes that hurt the business.

Agree on both points. Also, and obviously critical:

4) taking an ADDITIONAL percentage from all wagers... as if their cut for doing nothing wasn't enough.


Even if you don't want to wager online, there's much better options than NYCOTB. Hell, Meadowlands is a short train ride away and a much more pleasant off track experience.

Phil, Not sure where you are. But if you are in Jersey, Favorites on Rte 1 in Woodbridge is great. It's almost like being in a Vegas style race book.

I live in Kentucky now, and when I lived in Jersey it was before OTB's were allowed so I went to Monmouth, but good point- also the Teletheater on Long Island is nice too. Don't know how easy it is to get to by public transportation though. I always drove there from Queens.

If it is the one in Plainview, which is what I think you are talking about, it is impossible to get to with public transportation. They just put a new one in Carle Place which is pretty nice, though and not far from the train station.

New York OTB to lose Pimlico next week
By Matt Hegarty

The signal from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore will be unavailable to customers of New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation after Saturday's Preakness Stakes card because of concerns about OTB's finances raised by the New York regulators, racing officials said Friday.

The decision to bar the signal from New York City OTB's parlors and account-wagering operation was made on Friday afternoon, shortly after the New York State Racing and Wagering Board backtracked on a decision to pull the Pimlico signal from OTB as of Friday morning. Joe Mahoney, a spokesperson for the board, said on Friday afternoon that the board decided to allow betting on the signal by New York City OTB customers on Friday and Saturday because of the interest by racing fans in the cards Pimlico will offer those days.

"This is the best result for the racing fans," Mahoney said.

Pimlico's 20-day spring meet began on April 17. After Saturday's Preakness card, Pimlico will not run again until next Thursday, and the meet will close next Saturday.

The decision to bar the Pimlico signal follows the board's decision earlier this month to bar wagering by New York City OTB customers on Arlington Park near Chicago, Chester Downs in Pennsylvania, Louisiana Downs, and Thistledown racetrack in Ohio.

According to Mahoney, the board has declined to approve any simulcasting contracts for New York City OTB until the corporation "satisfactorily" responds to a request to provide the board with additional information about its financial situation. New York City OTB, which is owned by the state, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and it is reorganizing under the protection of Chapter 9 of the bankruptcy code.

So in effect NYS officials are banning wagers on out of state tracks for the good of the out of town tracks? But the instate tracks just have to suck it up and hope that they eventually will get paid?

Pretty remarkable, eh?

EXACTLY. then they all turn the blame on NYRA, you know, the guys that never get paid. REMARKABLE!