Updated 04/09/2010 08:32 PM
OTB Postpones Shutdown
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The closing of the city's Off-Track Betting parlors and thousands of layoffs has been postponed for at least a week.
OTB was supposed to close 68 parlors and lay off as many as 1,300 workers, but the agency's board voted Friday to suspend the closing while state lawmakers work to solve the cash-strapped agency's money problems.
OTB Chairman Meyer "Sandy" Frucher wanted to shut down dozens of outlets and replace them with automated betting kiosks spread out across the city. He said the agency is not looking for a state handout to solve its financial problems.
"We’re not asking them to bail out OTB. We’re not asking for any state money. In fact, we don’t want any state money," said Frucher. "What we want is a restructuring of OTB and we want OTB to exist in the marketplace. If it can’t exist in the marketplace, then it shouldn’t exist."
As of late Friday, state lawmakers remained in talks to save the agency, but there was no timeline for when a deal could come.