The closures of over 50 OTB locations in the city meant bad news for, well, the kind of people who'd choose to spend their time in an OTB. But the government will be glad to know that the city's illegal bookies have seen business soar! "It's a big spike. I do a few hundred dollars in bets in a day to a few thousand," 42-year-old "Primo," who has been taking bets for over 20 years, told the Post. Just goes to show that hard work + time + an illegal business structure = success!
The New York Racing Association has also seen a rise in online bets since the OTB closures went into effect, from $1.8 million in bets in February 2010 to $5.1 million in February 2011. But for those old-timers who aren't taking kindly to that whole series of tubes, bookies are the best bet (groan). "If they can't bet on a horse, they will do basketball and hockey," said bookie "George." The Post also reports, "Asian horse players, who also flocked to OTB, haven't warmed to online betting either." Is there an Asian horse breed that's particularly good at racing, or are they trying to say Asian people don't know how to use the Internet?
