NEW YORK CITY OFF-TRACK BETTING CONTINUES TO BREAK RECORDS-- GENERATES $121.2 MILLION IN REVENUE DURING FY '97 --
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today joined New York City Off-Track-Betting Corporation (OTB) President Allie Sherman to announce that Fiscal Year 1997 was another record-breaking year for the Corporation. At a press conference at the OTB Winner's Circle Teletheater in Manhattan, the Mayor reported that during the past fiscal year (July 1, 1996 - June 30, 1997) horse racing fans wagered over $900 million generating more than $121.2 million in OTB revenue -- up $8.7 million from the last fiscal year. Of this, $32 million was allocated to New York City, including $11.9 million in residual revenue (profit or loss after paying all expenses), the highest residual revenue since 1988.
"The leadership team we've put in place at OTB has done a terrific job for New York City and for horse racing in New York State," said Mayor Giuliani. "Four years ago OTB was losing money -- as I've said before it was probably the only unprofitable bookmaker in the world. In the two years prior to my administration, OTB lost a total of $8.5 million. Our reorganization efforts -- a combination of aggressive management, new marketing efforts, clever use of advanced technology, reduced spending, and increased productivity -- have led to a remarkable turnaround over the last three years.
"We approached the revitalization of OTB the same way we've approached the reorganization of City government. We made it more efficient, less expensive and more responsive to the needs of the public, and we succeeded," the Mayor concluded.
Over the past three years, OTB betting dollars handled per full-time employee grew from $765,000 to $1,038,000, an increase of 36 percent. The amount of money handled by each OTB facility increased from $7.9 million to $11.9 million, an increase of 51 percent. Also, in an effort to cut costs and make its operations more efficient, over the past three years OTB has closed 18 facilities, a 19 percent reduction, and reduced the number of full-time employees by 95, a 10 percent reduction.
New marketing efforts implemented by OTB this year have broadened its customer base. For instance, OTB opened its first branch in an existing restaurant at Mary McGuire's in Astoria, Queens. In addition, telewagering, which allows customers to place bets over the phone, in 1994 accounted for $30,000 of total wagers a day. Today it exceeds $550,000. Simulcasting also continues to play an important role, offering viewing of the most attractive racing in the country to OTB customers.
"Horse racing is alive and well in New York City," said OTB President Allie Sherman, "This has been an excellent year for the corporation and we're proud of our contributions to the City, State and racing industry. This past year's Triple Crown proved to be one of the best in OTB history. Wagering during the Kentucky Derby totaled $6.6 million, the second highest in history; Preakness wagers totaled $5.1 million, the third best; and Belmont Stakes wagers totaled $5.6 million, the second highest."
New York City will receive $32 million of the $121.2 million in revenues generated by OTB in FY '97. New York State will receive, $12.9 million; other local governments, $3.8 million; and the horse racing industry, $72.5 million, including $51 million exclusively to New York State tracks.
"OTB continues to be a revenue provider for New York City," said David Cornstein, OTB Chairman. "All our numbers are up and that means better news for the City. We've listened to what New Yorkers wanted and made changes. As a result we continue to break records when it comes to generating revenue for the City."
Since 1970 OTB has distributed $1.1 billion to New York City, $428.5 million to New York State, $182.8 million to local governments and $1.2 billion to the racing industry. There are currently 76 OTB parlors in New York City.
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