September 22, 2014

Conners Cautions Casino Siting Board About Capital Off-Track Betting

Albany County Comptroller Michael F. Conners, II, testified this morning about the Capital
District Casino decision cautioning the group that he had several concerns about the proposal
that Capital OTB was partnering with in Rensselaer. Conners investigated OTB twice and
found betting on credit, massive security breaches, numerous violations of NYS Racing &
Wagering Statutes and theft by employees.


Some of Conners points were:
Capital OTB is deviating from the two expressed purposes for their existence,
elimination of illegal bookmaking and generating revenue for local governments.
Capital OTB/Flaum/Hard Rock Cafe were asked twice on the 8
th
of September to cite
the basis for their authority to engage in the Casino business and did not answer the
Board on either occasion.
The management of OTB engage in placing bets during working hours and were
actually encouraged to do by the Capital OTB Board in a decision almost 10 years ago.
A board member introduced a motion to forbid the unsafe practice and the board voted
to sustain the unsavory practice.
Conner has still not received an answer to his emails to Mr. Signor about the rumors of
OTB involvement in the Casino operation.
The future payments to OTB staff and directors are unclear due to massive redactions
in the submission.
The Capital OTB handle was $153.6 million last year, and the local governments
received only $2.1 million. Why should we trust the promises of this group?
Their handle is down $6.1 million from the year before.
The new Capital OTB at 711 Central Ave. in Albany was recently completed. What
will happen to the handle at that location if Capital OTB moves into a Casino in
Rensselaer?

MICHAEL F. CONNERS, II
COUNTY COMPTROLLER
MCONNERS@ALBANYCOUNTY. COM



COUNTY OF ALBANY
DEPARTMENT OF AUDIT AND CONTROL
HAROLD L. JOYCE OFFICE BUILDING
112 STATE STREET, ROOM 1030
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12207
(518) 447-7130 - FAX (518) 433-1554
WWW.ALBANYCOUNTY.COM


EDWARD L. DOTT
EXECUTI VE DEPUTY COMPTROLLER
EDOTT@ALBANYCOUNTY. COM


JOHN W. CURRAN
EXECUTI VE DEPUTY COMPTROLLER
BCURRAN@ALBANYCOUNTY. COM

2

What happens to the payment for the City of Albany if the handle shifts to the Casino
location?
The Capital OTB/Flaum/Hard Rock Caf group has jumped twice from previous
promised locations, including Tobin Packing and the e23/Noonan property. Why
should we trust them to honor the promises made today when they have so easily
broken other promises.
The federal investigation into the hedge fund backing the proposal is disquieting to say
the least. When you look at the proposal for the submission, there is more information
redacted than there is from Central Intelligence document.
Capital OTB has been run like a fraternity and allowing them into the Casino business
places the localities at risk of losing even more revenue.
We have filed endless FOIL requests with Capital OTB over the years and find them to
be obstructive and non-compliant.
Why should we trust the combination of Capital OTB/Flaumm/Hard Rock Caf as a
trustworthy part of this adventure?

I have made it clear that the expansion of gambling for economic development is bad public
policy, there is not the disposable income available to support the Casinos that currently exist,
let alone this round of expansion and finally will result in increased welfare costs for our
County.

If pressed to support any of the four proposals for our region, I would have to weigh in in favor
of the East Greenbush proposal. We know the track record of the partner from Saratoga Racino,
and I find them to be more a reliable group.