NYC Off-Track Betting Corp. faces closure

The bankrupt New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. will shutter by March 30 without an outside infusion of cash, the company announced today. The OTB, which was taken over by the state after threatening to close down in early 2008, operates 65 betting parlors in the city and shares $1 billion in annual revenue with the state and city governments. The OTB said its own share is not enough to maintain or renovate the parlors and warned that a closure would mean 1,500 employee layoffs and $600 million in pensions and benefits for the state.