New York Racing Industry Needs More Fans States Expert in Empire Page Interview

ALBANY, NY (05/25/2010)(readMedia)-- The problems facing the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and New York's Off-Tracking Betting agencies are solvable according to racing industry expert Bennett Liebman, executive director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School. There are solutions to both organizations' problems he states in an exclusive interview with the Empire Page website published May 25, 2010, but not if the fan base keeps eroding.

Liebman points out that NYRA would not have to threaten to lay off 1,400 employees as it did late last week or ask NYS for a $25 million loan if it had received the $17 million owed to it by the NYC OTB and if the video gaming terminals scheduled to be installed at the Aqueduct Raceway were in operation.

Once open NYS can expect to receive between $693,000 and $891,000 per day from the Aqueduct Racino Liebman suggests.

In terms of the state's OTBs Liebman doesn't see much hope if the fan base continues to erode. "When you adjust for inflation, New York handle on horse racing hasn't been this low since 1942," he states.

The entire interview with Bennett Liebman can be found in the Improving New York section of the Empire Page website.

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