Free Republic

Legislation has been introduced that would pave the way for Suffolk County Regional Off-Track Betting to declare bankruptcy and potentially avoid bailing on its debts, which might include money for the New York Racing Association. In December, a federal judge ruled Suffolk OTB could not declare bankruptcy without approval from the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Suffolk OTB had filed for bankruptcy last spring and faced opposition from Churchill Downs, the Kentucky race course that is one of its largest creditors, even though the bankruptcy plan included a framework to pay all debts in full. Last spring, NYRA President...

Wherever there is a New York politician, there is never the lack of calamity. The year draws to a close in New York with the racing game again in the grip of high anxiety. The betting shops in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island are dark and shuttered. The fraternity of clowns and scoundrels formerly known as the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation are among the unemployed. They have the fraternity of clowns and scoundrels known as the New York State Senate to thank for their plight. Tens of millions of dollars owed to the New York...

As Gov. Paterson last week presented yet another plan to save the long-beleaugered Off-Track Betting Corp., Mayor Bloomberg exposed a $200 million deal-breaker that should put the final nail in OTB's coffin. On Wednesday, Paterson outlined his scheme for "saving" the world's only money-losing bookie:

So the inept New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. finally filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection yesterday, officially becoming the first bookmaker that couldn't make a profit (See Page 8). Despite handling close to one billion dollars a year in wagers, the incompetent organization still can't break even, blaming others for its problems when NYCOTB is its own. OTB pushed for nighttime thoroughbred simulcasting, and got it, and now is paying for it dearly. It's the biggest mistake that NYCOTB made, thinking people would gamble on Penn National and Mountaineer like they wager on Aqueduct, Belmont or Churchill Downs. It...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - New York City Off-Track Betting Corp., the state-owned agency that has a monopoly on taking offtrack parimutuel bets from residents of New York's five boroughs, has an operating deficit of $38 million, an accumulated deficit of $228 million, and will be insolvent soon without legislative help or the implementation of drastic cost-cutting measures, according to an audit conducted by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released on Friday. The audit, which analyzed the operations of the state-owned company over the past four fiscal years, concludes that OTB's financial problems are largely related to its obligations

<p>JEFFERSON CITY -- Gov. Bob Holden wrote President George W. Bush on Tuesday saying he was concerned about the use of Missouri National Guard soldiers to drive vehicles for civilian contractors in Iraq.</p> <p>Holden said if they are, he strenuously objected to the "wrongful use of U.S. Army personnel in this manner."</p>

<p>Governor says the strong growth in state tax revenue shows that Missouri has enough in its budget to cover service expenditures.</p> <p>JEFFERSON CITY - Acknowledging strong growth in state tax revenue, Gov. Bob Holden released on Friday the remaining $43 million he had withheld from state agencies because of concerns the state budget was unbalanced.</p>

<p>JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Bob Holden on Friday delivered good news to Missouri's 524 public school districts and did what Republicans have been asking him to do for months.</p> <p>Holden released $127 million that he had withheld from public schools and universities last year to balance the state budget. Holden, a Democrat, said a combination of positive budgeting developments - not improving state revenue - prompted him to make the decision.</p>

Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- Despite the fact that there are enough pro-life legislators in Missouri to override his vetoes, Governor Bob Holden called them hypocrites for supporting restrictions on abortion while loosening restrictions on business and agriculture. Speaking Tuesday to 150 attendees at a pro-abortion rally, Holden pledged to veto any pro-life legislation -- even though his veto last session of a law requiring a 24 hour waiting period before an abortion was overridden by legislators from both parties. Holden referred to Republican legislators' attempts to reduce the government burden on business and agriculture, and criticized the fact that...