Kellner Touts Betting Machine Bill

Upper East Side Assembly Member Micah Kellner renewed his call allow betting machines back in New York City bars. A member of the Assembly's Racing and Wagering Committee, Kellner announced that he is introducing legislation to allow pari-mutuel betting machines at New York City bars where they were previously installed before the closure of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation (OTB) in 2010. The bill will further require a substantial part of the revenue generated by bets on the machines be allocated to New York State's public education budget. He announced the introduction of his bill at the Playwright Irish Pub near Herald Square in midtown Manhattan, where a pari-mutuel machine had been operated before OTB's closure.

"New York's students are being scratched from the race for a better education because government leaders can't even get out of the starting gate when it comes to maximizing revenue for our public schools," said Kellner. "As the most fabled horse race in the world is run today, it's time to step up the pace to maximize this sizeable potential revenue source for our city's public schools. With countless New Yorkers seeking to place casual bets legally and simply at their local neighborhood bar, New York State needs to take the bit between its teeth and move to allow pari-mutuel machines back into the taverns where they were previously operated without incident."