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August 22, 2001 -- ALBANY - The Giuliani administration is pushing for the option to place video slot machines in local OTB parlors - a move critics say would create a patchwork of "mini-casinos."
The city's request is tied to efforts to allow the video slots at the state's horse-racing tracks.
The city's contention is that if the tracks are granted permission for the devices, the city should at least have the option to decide if it's right for the OTB parlors and teletheaters.
"We're asking them to give us an opportunity to be part of it," said Charles "Skip" Piscitelli, the city's chief Albany lobbyist. "Don't just leave it at the tracks."
OTB President Maury Satin, who has met with state lawmakers on the matter, said video slots would be "a new way to attract customers."
Satin and Piscitelli said the issue is not directly linked to the potential sale of the city OTB to a private company.
But they say if the OTB sale is approved by the Legislature, they would still like to see the new owner have the opportunity to install slots if they are approved for the tracks.
Gambling critics called the entire notion "absurd."
"You would be opening neighborhood mini-casinos," said Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Queens), the Legislature's leading critic of gambling.
The state's struggling harness tracks have been pushing for video slots as a way to boost business.
Recently, the New York Racing Association said for the first time that it supports video slots for two of the three tracks it operates
The city's request is tied to efforts to allow the video slots at the state's horse-racing tracks.
The city's contention is that if the tracks are granted permission for the devices, the city should at least have the option to decide if it's right for the OTB parlors and teletheaters.
"We're asking them to give us an opportunity to be part of it," said Charles "Skip" Piscitelli, the city's chief Albany lobbyist. "Don't just leave it at the tracks."
OTB President Maury Satin, who has met with state lawmakers on the matter, said video slots would be "a new way to attract customers."
Satin and Piscitelli said the issue is not directly linked to the potential sale of the city OTB to a private company.
But they say if the OTB sale is approved by the Legislature, they would still like to see the new owner have the opportunity to install slots if they are approved for the tracks.
Gambling critics called the entire notion "absurd."
"You would be opening neighborhood mini-casinos," said Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Queens), the Legislature's leading critic of gambling.
The state's struggling harness tracks have been pushing for video slots as a way to boost business.
Recently, the New York Racing Association said for the first time that it supports video slots for two of the three tracks it operates