SUITORS FROM OTB SWEETEN POT TO LURE SUPPORT; ONONDAGA COUNTY REMAINS A HOLDOUT, BUT A PROMISE OF $1 MILLION IN REVENUES, PLUS CASH FOR SYRACUSE, COULD EVENTUALLY SWAY OPINIONS.(News)

Byline: Rick Moriarty Staff writer

Supporters of off-track betting are marshaling their forces and lobbying Onondaga County lawmakers, desperate for new sources of revenue, to reconsider their long-held opposition to gambling parlors.

Schenectady-based Capital District Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. and Pomona-based Catskill Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. were calling on county legislators last week.

Both organizations say Onondaga County government could count on receiving at least $1 million in annual revenue as its share of the money dropped by gamblers if off-track horse racing parlors are allowed in the county.

With property taxes rising, state and federal aid shrinking and the county likely to face a budget deficit of about $40 million next year, OTB might come up for a vote - possibly as early as today.

"I think it has a chance to pass," said John Signor, president and CEO of Capital OTB. "What we offer is the right thing - revenues for the county."

Onondaga County lawmakers have rejected proposals for off-track betting several times, going back more than 20 years. The last time was in June, when they voted 13-5 against asking the state Legislature to allow Capital OTB to operate here.

Onondaga is one of 13 counties in the state without a horse-betting parlor.

Legislature Chairman James Rhinehart, who favors allowing off-track betting, said no vote is on the agenda for today's 2:30 p.m. Legislature meeting. But he said discussions are taking place, and it's possible the issue will find its way onto the agenda - today or at another meeting.

Rhinehart, R-Skaneateles, thought he had the necessary 10 votes in the 19-member Legislature to approve Capital OTB's proposal in June. But pressure from gambling opponents caused some lawmakers to pull away at the last minute, he said.

"We were close," he said. "If it comes to me again and the votes are there, I'm going to put it on."

Rhinehart said he believes seven Republicans would vote for it. That means the proposal would need the votes of three of the seven Democrats to pass.

Proponents had hoped that Legislator William Kinne, D-Syracuse, would call for a new vote and support OTB. Kinne was absent at the June meeting because of illness.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner was among those asking Kinne to support OTB. But on Monday, Kinne said he will oppose it if there is a vote.

Kinne said an informal survey he conducted last week drew about 75 responses from city residents. Most favored OTB but were not enthusiastic about it, and only one person liked the idea of a downtown betting parlor, he said. Many people were uncomfortable with the idea of "making money off people who can least afford it," he said.

If approved by the Legislature, Capital OTB plans to open an upscale "teletheater" in Syracuse, possibly downtown, Signor said. It would come with a restaurant and flat-screen televisions for watching horse races. In addition, the corporation would open one or two smaller betting parlors elsewhere in the county, he said.

In hopes of winning more support from lawmakers from the city, Capital OTB officials have been playing up the host fee Syracuse would receive if a betting parlor is located within its borders. Signor said the fee would be about $250,000, or 1 percent of the estimated $25 million a year that gamblers could be expected to drop at a parlor in Syracuse.

As a sweetener, the corporation has offered to donate $125,000 annually for at least three years to Syracuse's Say Yes to Education, a college tuition assistance program for city high school graduates.

Miner said she suggested the organization offer the donation. After it agreed in writing to do so, she started contacting fellow Democrats in the Legislature to seek their support for Capital's offer.

Miner said she is not a fan of gambling but believes the city should benefit from it since Onondaga County residents gamble at OTB parlors in surrounding counties.

"If people are going to use them, which they clearly are, I think the city should get its share of the dollars," she said.

After news of Capital OTB's efforts leaked out, Catskill OTB launched its own campaign, with former state Sen. Tarky Lombardi Jr. lobbying lawmakers.

Lombardi said Monday that county budget challenges and changes in the gambling industry could improve the odds of getting off-track betting into Onondaga County.

"The whole dynamics of gaming have changed," he said. "You've got lotteries, casinos, racinos. Originally, OTB was kept out because people didn't want to encourage gambling. Right now, you can sit in your living room and bet on horse racing through the Internet. OTB would just bring some of that money into Onondaga County."

Catskill OTB President Donald Groth said the organization has been trying for more than 20 years to get into Onondaga County. He said $1 million a year is a reasonable estimate of the money county government could get.

He, too, thinks the budget problems facing the county could make the difference if the Legislature votes again.

"There's only one motivation that will lead them to off-track betting -- and that's money," he said.

However, Upstate counties are getting less money from OTB these days.

The amount wagered with three OTB corporations that operate in Upstate counties has declined every year since 2005, when $504 million was bet, according to the state Racing & Wagering Board. In 2009, a total of $406 million in OTB bets were placed with Capital, Western Regional and Catskill OTBs.

OTB officials say competition from casinos and Internet gambling sites has cut into their business. When fewer OTB wages are placed, the payments to host counties drop.

Still, gambling opponents fear budget woes could prompt Onondaga County to welcome OTB.

"I'm concerned it could get through this time because of the dire straits of the economy right now," said Colby Sutter, who counsels people with gambling addictions as a program coordinator for the Prevention Network in Syracuse.

He said he plans to attend today's Legislature meeting, just in case the OTB proposal comes up for another vote.

Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or 470-3148.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Michelle Gabel/The Post-Standard

DANIEL O'GRADY, of Syracuse, spends time at the off-track betting parlor in Bridgeport in Madison County. The Onondaga County Legislature has been asked to reconsider allowing off-track betting.

Dick Blume/The Post-Standard

"I THINKit has a chance to pass," Capital OTB CEO John Signor said about off-track betting's future in Onondaga County. "What we offer is the right thing - revenues for the county."

MAP: Counties off-track betting revenue. The Post-Standard

GRAPHIC: Upstate bets are off The Post-Standard.

The amount of money wagered at the three OTB corporations that operate in Upstate counties has declined in recent years:

IN MILLIONS

2005 $504

2006 493

2007 473

2008 446

2009 406

Source: New York State Racing and Wagering Board