Tag: OTB

May 14

2025

State to take smaller cut of OTB revenue

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Byron Brown speaks to reporters at Batavia Downs. Photo by Garrett Looker. Just six months into his tenure at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., former Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown netted the agency a major win in Albany. Tucked away in the state’s sprawling $254 billion budget that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Friday is a provision that could save OTB between $4 million and $5 million per year by reducing the state’s take of revenues.  In exchange for the savings, OTB must submit an annual report to the Legislature and governor’s office outlining how it spent the millions it saved.[...]

Posted 7 days ago

Mar 28

2025

OTB settles lawsuit, pays whistleblower

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Michael Nolan, at one time the second-in-command of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., has settled a wrongful termination lawsuit with his former employer, related to his firing more than four years ago. As a result, OTB will pay Nolan a $550,000 settlement. In a statement saying the “long-standing litigation” had been resolved, OTB attorney John Owens said simply that “the parties are satisfied with the settlement.” OTB spokesperson Mike DeGeorge declined to comment further. Steven Cohen, Nolan’s attorney, also declined to comment. Owens said OTB will pay $150,000 of the settlement and its insurance company will pay the rest. Neither[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Mar 5

2025

Reforms, at last, at OTB

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OTB boss Byron Brown speaks to reporters at Batavia Downs. Photo by Garrett Looker. After years of scandal and critical audits, the governing board of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. has agreed in principle to a slate of reforms that address some longstanding criticisms of the agency.  The course correction includes capping severance pay and travel expenses, putting more contracts out to bid, and tighter monitoring of promotional giveaways.  Also under consideration is whether OTB will purchase a suite at the new Buffalo Bills stadium. Not under consideration is termination of health insurance provided to OTB’s chairman and 23[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Feb 5

2025

OTB still doling out health coverage despite warnings

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OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett and then president and CEO Henry Wojtaszek. Photo by Garrett Looker In defiance of the state comptroller, the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. continues to provide gold-plated health insurance to its chairman and his wife, a dozen former board members and the widows of three others. In some cases, the former board members enrolled in the health plan haven’t served on the OTB board in two decades. Over the last three years, OTB spent an average of $149,000 annually providing the current and former board members with the insurance. OTB’s largess doesn’t end with the board. [...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jan 27

2025

Comptroller to audit OTB again

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For a third time in recent years, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office will audit the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. In a statement Monday, comptroller spokesperson Mark Johnson said the agency will audit “the financial operations of WROTB.” He said the comptroller’s office informed OTB of the audit last week and that it would begin in February. The review, broader in scope than the comptroller’s past audits, will take several months to complete, Johnson said. In a statement, OTB spokesperson Michael DeGeorge said the audit could include a review of agency finances stretching back three to five years.[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Dec 24

2024

OTB accuses whistleblower of ‘public smear campaign’

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Western Regional Off-Track Betting’s Batavia Downs. Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp has filed a counterclaim against a former executive turned whistleblower who maintains he was fired after he agreed to cooperate with investigations into alleged wrongdoing at the public benefit corporation. OTB’s counterclaim, filed Nov. 27, alleges that former Chief Operating Officer Michael Nolan breached his “fiduciary duty and duties of loyalty and confidentiality” to the organization while engaging in a “public smear campaign” designed to draw negative attention to WROTB and its outgoing CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek. The countersuit accuses Nolan of conspiring with his attorney, Steve Cohen,[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Dec 17

2024

Departing OTB chief splurged on travel

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Henry Wojtaszek is going out in style. The departing president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. traveled grandly during his final year on the job, records show.  Consider:  A three-night stay at a swanky hotel on the Las Vegas Strip at a cost of $3,300.  A $1,600 tab — dinner for five — at a top-rated Las Vegas steakhouse owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck during that same trip.  An August trip to Saratoga Springs that included a $2,420 tab — dinner for nine — at a farm-to-table steakhouse. And an overnight stay at a four-star New York[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Dec 11

2024

Prospect of more scrutiny for OTB

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Batavia Downs, the flagship of Western Regional OTB. Photo by Garrett Looker. Two state authorities appear to be eyeing probes into the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., Investigative Post has learned. The Inspector General, responding to a request from two state lawmakers, has obtained documents including buyout deals for Henry Wojtaszek, OTB’s outgoing  president and CEO, and two of his top lieutenants. The Inspector General’s office would neither confirm nor deny whether the records request has progressed into a formal investigation. In addition, the state comptroller is considering a request from Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick for a “performance and[...]

Posted 5 months ago
Investigative Post