OTB's Future Still Unclear

New York, NY —

Sunday could be the last day of Off-Track Betting in New York City, but it's still hard to say for sure. As WNYC's Ilya Marritz reports, the city and state now find themselves on opposite sides of an issue both say they are trying to resolve.

REPORTER: All Friday morning, rumors swirled that leaders in Albany had reached a last-minute agreement to save OTB. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had given them a deadline of this weekend to fix the betting corporation's finances or he would shut it down. Albany's solution: to take OTB off the city's hands. gov. David Paterson announced the takeover in the afternoon, without giving many details.

Hours later, Bloomberg put out a brief statement, saying the plan left too many legal and financial matters unresolved. The city would proceed with the planned shutdown.

What happens now is unclear. Paterson's responded with a statement, arguing that the agreement, vague as it is, would be beneficial to New York City. But in the long-running power struggle between city and state, this appears to be one area where the city the advantage. Ultimately, it is the mayor who controls New York City OTB.

For WNYC, I'm Ilya Marritz