Thursday, July 30, 2009
How a monopoly gambling franchise can go bankrupt, cont'd.
Have it be run by the government. Updating the story...
OTB'S BLEAK ODDSAs noted in a prior post...
AUDIT: IT'LL GO BUST
ALBANY -- New York City's OTB, saddled with a bloated payroll, too many outlets, a huge fleet of cars and several no-bid contracts, "is unlikely to avoid financial insolvency," a scathing state audit has found...
The Post disclosed last week that OTB's senior management was considering an unprecedented filing in federal bankruptcy court...
The audit found that OTB management had not conducted a study of its staffing needs since 1981 -- before the initiation of telephone and Internet betting options that account for an increasing percentage of wagering.
It also discovered that OTB maintained a total of 87 vehicles, including several recently purchased high-priced SUVs, 22 of which were routinely used by executives to commute to and from work.
The audit noted there were "no written rules governing the assignment of the vehicles" and "no written explanation for the existing assignments."... [NY Post]
OTB is operating with a negative cash flow of $600,000 to $800,000 a month on a betting handle of $900 million a year.When politicians can manage that, of course I want them managing my health care too!
