Two high-ranking officials of the Erie County Democratic Committee have been appointed to the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. board of directors.
WROTB President/Chief Executive Officer Henry Wojtaszek informed The Batavian today that Jennifer Hibit and Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney, secretary and vice chair of the ECDC, respectively, will be joining the board and are expected to attend its next meeting on July 27 at Batavia Downs Gaming.
Hibit will represent Erie County, replacing Francis Warthling, while Rodriguez-Dabney will represent the City of Buffalo, replacing Michelle Parmer-Garner.
Wojtaszek also said that Terrance Baxter, a Republican and current Town of Moravia supervisor, will represent Cayuga County on the board. Baxter replaces Paul Lattimore.
The board was disbanded in May by New York State Assembly and Senate leaders and Gov. Kathy Hochul in response to a proposal by Democratic State Sen. Tim Kennedy of Buffalo to reconfigure the voting method from one municipality/one vote to a weighted system based on population.
As a result, the majority of the 100 votes are in the hands of directors from Erie and Monroe counties and Buffalo and Rochester.
Monroe and Schuyler counties have yet to announce their appointees to the 17-director board.
Hibit spent 11 years as the Chief of Staff for Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz before taking a position as the director of Human Resources last year with the Erie County Water Authority. During her time with Poloncarz’ staff, she served as the campaign manager for his election and re-election campaigns.
Rodriguez-Dabney, an attorney, recently accepted the position of Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Before that, she served for 15 months as the First Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff for the City of Buffalo.
Baxter is a Member at Large on the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District board and is a former Cayuga County legislator.
As previously reported by The Batavian, the other board members are Charles Zambito of Elba (Genesee County), Edward Morgan (Orleans County), Susan May (Wyoming County), Mark Burr (Cattaraugus County), Vincent Horrigan (Chautauqua County), Thomas Wamp (Livingston County), Elliott Winter (Niagara County), Mark Bombardo (Oswego County), Dennis Bassett (Rochester), Richard Ricci (Seneca County), Michael Horton (Steuben County) and Kenneth Lauderdale (Wayne County).
The weighted voting system gives Erie County 24 votes, followed by Monroe County (20), Buffalo (10) and Rochester (eight). Niagara County also has eight votes, while Chautauqua has five; Oswego, four; Steuben, Wayne, Cattaraugus and Cayuga, three each; Livingston and Genesee, two each; Wyoming, Orleans, Seneca and Schuyler, one each. The directors will serve four-year terms.
Charles Zambito, left, and Henry Wojtaszek at this morning's Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. board of directors meeting at Batavia Downs Gaming. Zambito is representing Genesee County on the board, replacing Richard Siebert, who resigned last month. Photo by Mike Pettinella.
With no one representing the “power block” of Erie and Monroe counties and the City of Buffalo, this morning’s meeting of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. board of directors was absent of any official business.
Instead, 12 of what in time will be 17 directors received updates on the various WROTB departments and listened on as Henry Wojtaszek, corporation president and chief executive officer, and Dennis Bassett, representing the City of Rochester, discussed the situation surrounding the potential placement of a full casino in the Flower City.
The City of Buffalo, along with the counties of Monroe, Erie, Cayuga and Schuyler, have yet to appoint their board members in light of a New York State-imposed directive to disband the previous board and change the voting parameters from a one-municipality/one-vote format to a weighted system based on population.
Since most of the voting power is in the hands of Buffalo and the two large counties west and east of Genesee, the board today did not have a quorum to conduct any business.
The 12 directors in attendance are holdovers from the previous board, except for Genesee County’s representative, former County Court Judge Charles Zambito. The Genesee County Legislature, in May, appointed Zambito to replace longtime board member Richard Siebert, who resigned after learning of the structural changes.
Speaking to The Batavian after the public portion of the meeting at Batavia Downs Gaming, Zambito said he’s had his eye upon joining the board for quite a while.
“It goes back to maybe part of my background (as) my family has been involved with the horses (harness racing) for years. And I spent time as a kid here -- sitting in the kiddie stands,” Zambito, 71, said. “I think it’s an important asset that we have, not just in Genesee County, but the whole area.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind to serve on the board. When Dick Siebert decided to leave, I’d be interested in doing it.”
When it was mentioned that he was coming in at a crossroads, so to speak, Zambito said, “Yeah, it’s going to be interesting.”
“Well, I’m a little concerned about the changes that were made, I mean. Obviously, it doesn't help Genesee County in the sense of the voting power or lack of power that we have. But you know, it could work. We'll see how it goes,” he said, adding that he found it strange that nobody was there representing all of the municipalities. “It’s not a good situation if you can’t operate as a board.”
Zambito briefly commented on the prospects of legal action by the rural counties which had their voting strength diminished. County Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein has said that Zambito’s legal experience was a factor in his selection.
“I've heard that there that there may be (litigation), but as of now, I'm not part of it,” he said. “So, I don’t know exactly what’s going on. But I think that was from our legislature’s point of view. We’ll see how it goes.”
An Elba native and resident, Zambito was the county attorney for 10 years prior to becoming a judge. He also served on the Genesee County Legislature, was an assistant district attorney and has been a lawyer since 1977.
CEO PROVIDES SENECA NATION UPDATE
Wojtaszek said the state Assembly finished its business for the year on Wednesday night, and lawmakers returned home without considering a bill to extend the gaming compact with the Seneca Nation, which would have included the placement of a casino in Rochester. He bemoaned the fact that negotiations took place by the governor, Senate speaker and Assembly leader without the input of local and regional stakeholders.
“That bill was passed by the Senate, but nobody really knows what’s in it other than some tidbits, such as the Senecas would pay 9.75 (percent in taxes) the first year, and contrast that with what we pay, 49 percent (to the New York Gaming Commission),” Wojtaszek said. “And even over the next 19 years, that would be 19 percent, and contrast that with our 49 percent.”
He said that Batavia Downs joined forces with union employees from Finger Lakes and Del Lago to protest the proposal during a rally in Rochester.
“It would clearly affect our businesses; certainly, reduce the employees that we have here … and, if you think about it, would probably mean the end of Batavia Downs,” he added. “If you lose 50 percent of your jobs, we do have fixed costs here. We put together a really nice package in terms of doing the construction of a hotel. You can't really keep up with that if you're going to lose half of your staff and can't that handle the people that are coming in here.”
Wojtaszek said if and when this issue resurfaces, he hopes that for more transparency in the process – calling for public hearings and an economic analysis, among other things. The current compact with Seneca Nation expires at the end of this year.
He also found it “incredible” that the state Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill (59-4) without knowing all of the details.
“Now, the City of Rochester and the County of Monroe have weighed in – and maybe there are some places in the county – and it certainly seems as though the city is not interested in having it sited … They didn’t see the benefit from it,” he said.
Bassett emphasized the importance of supplying Monroe County and Rochester leaders with accurate data to take the emotional angle out of the picture.
“We have to be really prepared to provide the data,” he said. “I know that Rochester is pushing back because of all the … the elevated amount of crime in Rochester. The last thing we need is a gathering place such as this (but) I’ve got to believe this is years off, it is going to happen at all.
“But I think the leadership in Monroe County and Rochester is more irritated because you're going to do something in my backyard, and you don't tell me that you're coming. That is really the rub. At least, show me the courtesy to say he would like to do this in your home. And what do you think about it? What do your people think about it?
“And having not done that, that brings an emotional issue to it. And I think it's important for us to follow that emotional rub with what the true downside is from a data perspective.”
Along those lines, Wojtaszek said a consulting firm concluded that gaming in upstate New York is “clearly at the point of either saturation or oversaturation.”
A casino in Rochester would have to generate $800 million in “net win” to provide the same amount of money given to the state by Batavia Downs, Del Lago and Finger Lakes, he said.
“We combined for about $350 million to $400 million in net win, and we pay the state about $150 million. In order for them to pay $150 million, they gotta generate $750 to $800 million in net win. Think about that, because they’re only paying 20 percent; we’re paying 49. It's a staggering amount of money. Where are they going to get that from when they're already oversaturated?”
Twelve of the 17 people who will represent their counties or cities on the reconfigured Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s board of directors have been appointed with a little more than a week to go before their next scheduled meeting.
WROTB President/Chief Executive Officer Henry Wojtaszek provided the names of the newly appointed directors to The Batavian this morning, noting that the Democratic-leaning municipalities of Erie and Monroe counties and the City of Buffalo have yet to announce their selections.
As previously reported first on The Batavian, Charles Zambito of Elba, former Genesee County Court judge, has been appointed to represent the host county in matters concerning Batavia Downs Gaming, Harness Track, The Hotel at Batavia Downs and the public benefit company’s Off-Track Betting locations.
Zambito was appointed by the Genesee County Legislature on May 24 to replace longtime director Richard Siebert, who stepped down after learning of the significant changes made by the powers-that-be in Albany to the board’s structure and voting format.
Legislation passed by state lawmakers dismantled the board – forcing county governments and executives to appoint new (or reappoint current) directors – and changed the voting procedure from one municipality/one vote to a weighted system based on population.
The change puts the majority of the “power” in the hands of directors from Erie and Monroe counties and Buffalo and Rochester.
Erie County will have 24 votes, followed by Monroe County (20), Buffalo (10) and Rochester (eight). Niagara County also has eight votes, while Chautauqua has five; Oswego, four; Steuben, Wayne, Cattaraugus and Cayuga, three each; Livingston and Genesee, two each; Wyoming, Orleans, Seneca and Schuyler, one each. The directors will serve four-year terms.
Richard Bianchi (Monroe County), who served as board chair for 13 years, was not reappointed to the board. Others not reappointed are Francis Warthling (Erie County), Paul Lattimore (Cayuga County), Philip Barnes (Schuyler County) and Michelle Parmer-Garner (Buffalo).
Lattimore and Barnes had not attended any meetings over the past four years while Parmer-Garner missed the last 18 meetings and many prior to that.
Directors reappointed to the board are Edward Morgan (Orleans County), Susan May (Wyoming County), Mark Burr (Cattaraugus County), Vincent Horrigan (Chautauqua County), Thomas Wamp (Livingston County), Elliott Winter (Niagara County), Mark Bombardo (Oswego County), Dennis Bassett (Rochester), Richard Ricci (Seneca County), Michael Horton (Steuben County) and Kenneth Lauderdale (Wayne County).
When asked if a chair and vice chair would be elected at the next board meeting on June 22, Wojtaszek said it depends upon if there is a quorum (which, again, is subjected to weighted voting). Morgan was the vice chair of the previous board.
Henry Wojtaszek in a May 2022 file photo. Photo by Howard Owens
Two weeks after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced significant changes to the structure of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. board of directors and to the way voting is conducted by the board, The Bataviansat down with Henry Wojtaszek, WROTB president and chief executive officer, on Tuesday afternoon at his office at Batavia Downs Gaming.
On the evening of May 2, as part of the state budget negotiations, Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins announced approval of a bill calling for the immediate dismantling of the current WROTB board and a move to weighted voting based on population.
It was no longer business as usual for the public benefit corporation as the previous system of one vote for one municipality was struck down. Control of the board now has shifted to the Democrat Party-heavy population centers – Erie and Monroe counties and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.
WROTB distributes a portion of earnings and surcharges to its 17 member municipalities – 15 counties, including Genesee, and the two major cities. Most of the rural counties lean Republican.
Following is the interview with Wojtaszek, who has been with the corporation for 13 years, the last six as the president/CEO:
Q. With all of the recent changes coming from Albany, what do you see going forward? A. I would hope that as we see the board members being appointed from the various municipalities that we continue to receive very good board members … and that I would hope that common sense would prevail. The results here have been fantastic – and that’s what ultimately matters relative to a company.
We have excellent workers here who perform at an extremely high level, the guests consistently rate their experience here as excellent; they really enjoy coming here, and they enjoy the experience that they have here. I would hope that the people who have worked here over the last many, many years – those who make up a great team – are allowed to continue to do their jobs and provide that kind of customer service.
I feel pretty confident and everyone's ability here. I have not seen any drop-off in terms of attendance … in the last couple of weeks or months. In fact, it’s only gotten busier. We’re definitely at a higher pace, and we’re going to beat last year’s record pace. It’s going to be $83 million this year (in net win). That’s money that’s split between the local municipalities and the state. We have 370 people with good jobs here, and we return a huge amount of money back to the municipalities.
Q. Do you think the jobs of rank-and-file employees will be affected? Will it come down to that? A. There’s a union here that provides a measure of protection for a lot of the workers that work here. Again, I think that performance really should matter a lot. And whatever direction this company goes, they're going to reward those people who have performed at a high level here. So, I’m optimistic that we're going to be able to continue to provide that great service and great, great entertainment value with most of the personnel still on site here.
Q. Have you had any contact from Buffalo Senator Tim Kennedy (who sponsored the bill to restructure the board) or his office, from anybody in Erie or Monroe County, Buffalo, or from Albany regarding what the future may hold? A. Nothing.
Q. Do you think that the management team will continue? A. We’ll know when the board takes their seats, which I expect will happen in June. I think it’d be difficult to have a meeting in May (the board was scheduled to meet on May 24-25), knowing that they have to be appointed and some people have to be licensed.
The exterior of Batavia Downs after renovations. FIle Photo by Howard Owens.
Q. Many Republican politicians have come out and called the move to change the voting method a “power grab.” Would you agree to their assessment? A. I do. I think for political purposes, I would term it as a political power grab. I can certainly say that it isn’t due to the performance of the corporation or the corporation performing up to par because it continues to break records in terms of the revenue it’s generating and the amount of distribution monies that it's generating to return to the communities. That's what we are charged to do -- prevent illegal bookmaking, create jobs and to return resources back to the member municipalities, and we've done all three of them at a very high level.
Q. Do you think that the things the New York State Comptroller’s Office brought up – mishandling of sporting event tickets, health insurance for board members, legal issues, etc. – prompted people to believe that more should have been distributed to municipalities? A. We addressed them four years ago. These issues came up four years ago, and we've obviously put in place better safeguards to make sure that we perform at a high level here. We asked for the help from the Comptroller; we asked for his advice. He gave us advice; we took his advice. It was over four years ago.
We continue to be the most regulated industry in New York State, besides maybe the nuclear energy industry. And that's okay. We’re good with that. We have to apply to the (NYS) Gaming Commission for most of the programs that we run here, including the ticket program. Every year, we get renewed by them. We have a very good relationship with the Gaming Commission. We abide by their rules, and we follow their recommendations. And we will continue to do that.
We just had an audit done by our outside auditing firm, The Bonadio Group. Everything came back completely in order; there are no irregularities. We feel very good about that. The board has always felt very good about that. We know that there are no issues within the corporation. And we feel very confident that a new board coming on is going to find the same thing. We hope that they take the time to look at what's going on here and not take some of the reports that are out there in the media as gospel, and they take the time to review what's actually going on here before they make any decisions.
Q. What do you think of WNY politicians questioning the cost of WROTB’s purchase of The Hotel at Batavia Downs. A. Actually, the hotel has been an excellent purchase for us. It’s really worked out well. It has allowed us to become a destination -- to provide a complete experience for people who want to come here and enjoy the gaming floor, enjoy the horse racing, enjoy the concerts, have a great meal, and stay on site. We think we got it for a reasonable price. We think we'll be able to utilize it now as a marketing tool to bring people here.
Q. The board has been considering adding more rooms to the hotel. With these recent changes, is any talk of expansion now on hold? A. What we’ve done was take a look at expansion to see whether or not it was something that was worthwhile. We never made a decision to expend any money. We were just looking at it to try to get some preliminary numbers.
Q. Didn’t the board vote to fund a feasibility study? A. The request was (to spend) between $50,000 and $100,000 to do a market study and do a feasibility study, but it wasn’t authorized. I guess the next board would take a look at it.
Q. In light of what has happened and some of these issues, do you have any regrets? A. I have a lot of fond memories here. We have some great workers here. I love interacting with the public that comes here, and I like to see that they enjoy themselves. Do I wish we would have handled things a little differently? There are a couple of things I wish we'd handled differently. I wish we would have been a little more open as to who utilized the tickets. I think at one point, we refused to turn that over for FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests. And I know, looking back, we should have done that a little early. We probably should have revamped our ticket policies a little bit earlier. Again, all those things were done over four years ago.
Q. Have some of your guests approached you and commented to you about the recent developments? Well, we have a lot of people that are very supportive of us here. A lot of our, our patrons, our guests that come here, are very supportive of our team that we've put together here. So yeah, I've heard a lot of support. We have had letters and a lot of comments and support in the last couple of weeks.
File photo from October 2021 when Batavia Downs made a donation to City Fire's Operation Warm, which provides coats to children in the city. Photo by Howard Owens.
Q. Genesee County now will get two out of a total of 100 votes under the weighted system, while Erie and Monroe counties, Buffalo and Rochester will combine for 62 votes. And they’re predominately Democrat. Your thoughts? A. I think things will be different. But again, I hope that common sense and good business sense prevail. And they allow the people here to do their jobs and to continue to do them.
Q. Do you think this was done to get you out? Do you feel that you’re in limbo at this point? A. Like I said, no one has talked to me. We just do our job every day. We continue to increase the revenue here. We continue to provide a great product for those people who are coming here and try to have a great experience and, and then the end of the day, we'll return the monies back to the municipalities like we're tasked with.
Q. Have you thought about what you would do if the new board decided to replace you? I know you’re an attorney. Has the thought about practicing law gone through your mind? A. We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. I love this job. I enjoy the people that I work with to a great extent, and I'm very proud of what they've done -- what we've all done here at Batavia Downs to build such a great business.
Q. One last thing. They’ve used the word corruption to describe the actions of the board and management relating to the issues that we’ve talked about. (“This is a big victory for the people of Western New York. We are rooting out corruption, and we are removing a board that demonstrated a blatant disregard for the public good,” Kennedy said.) That’s a very strong word that speaks about people’s character and reputation. How do you react to that? A. We know that anybody who's been here asking questions or asking for documents, we've provided complete transparency relative to what goes on here, and we will continue to do that. We’re a public benefit corporation. We understand that we do have to provide that kind of information when people are looking for it, and we'll do it. And we will continue to provide an inside look at what goes on here.”
Just a few months removed from what Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. officials reported as a record year for revenue, signs are pointing toward even greater earnings for Batavia Downs Gaming in 2023.
“We experienced a record 2022 and now the first quarter of 2023 is up 16 percent in what we distribute (to member municipalities),” WROTB President Henry Wojtaszek said following this morning’s board of directors meeting at the Park Road facility. “It’s the highest net win by more than a half a million for the corporation, so it’s really been a blockbuster first three months of the year for us.”
Jacquelyne Leach, the corporation’s chief financial officer, provided a report to The Batavian that shows that distribution of surcharge and earnings to the 17 participating municipalities for the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same time period in 2022.
The numbers indicate that $2,269,956 in surcharge and earnings was generated this year compared to $1,956,149 in the first quarter of last year.
Genesee County’s share increased by 18 percent – from $42,002 to $49,664.
Leach also pointed out that the "net win" for March was the corporation's highest ever, $7.7 million. "Net win" is defined as credits played in the machines less credits won, she said.
Wojtaszek said Batavia Downs Gaming is bucking the trend in the gaming industry, citing information shared at a recent conference in Atlantic City.
“We heard that while the industry is doing pretty well as a whole, the indication is that the brick-and-mortar part of the casino (business) isn’t necessarily up, depending where you are, geographically,” he said. “But we’re clearly a brick-and-mortar operation and we’re clearly having a banner year. Our numbers are definitely up.”
He said he is optimistic that 2023 will exceed last year’s figures.
“(The first quarter) is usually the slow season. We’ve experienced no slowdown and now we’re coming into the busy part – with the Triple Crown, the concerts and many other events that we have here. So, we’re looking forward to a great 2023.”
On another front, Wojtaszek said a committee looking into the possibility of expanding The Hotel at Batavia Downs met on Wednesday and is leaning toward recommending the expenditure of up to $100,000 for a feasibility study and architect’s rendering.
“We’re going to be careful in our analysis of it and spending any money, but in order to figure out whether or not the expansion of the hotel is warranted, we’re most likely going to have an architect give us some drawings and have a market study done as to the return on the investment … if we do expand,” he said.
Following last month’s meeting, Wojtaszek mentioned the possibility of adding 42 rooms to the 84-room facility, but today he backtracked a bit.
“We discussed it yesterday and decided not to sit on a number at this point,” he said.
He pointed out that the hotel has been very busy and sold out on many nights, but wasn’t sure if “we’ve hit that tipping point to necessitate additional rooms.”
Wojtaszek also noted that an expansion would enhance the ease of guests’ entrance into the hotel.
“We want to make sure we have a safe drop-off area and convenient drop-off area for people,” he said. “Now, it’s a difficult situation relative to the drop-off and entrance to the hotel. We’ve acknowledged that and we’re trying to give a better experience to the guests arriving at the hotel.”
He did say that Downs’ officials will address the drop-off situation regardless of the decision on expansion.
The Genesee Region USBC Association Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, May 20 at Batavia Downs Gaming on Park Road in Batavia.
The event will get underway with a brief memorial service at 6 p.m.
Tournament champions and league leaders will be honored and association officials will provide a report on the 2022-23 season.
The cost of the dinner is $30, with the following exceptions:
NO CHARGE – GRUSBC directors, Adult Tournament Champions (limit one tournament only), Youth Tournament Champions and one guest (limit one tournament only), guest speaker and one guest.
HALF PRICE – Past GRUSBC Hall of Famers, league secretary or representative (limit one per league).
The reservation deadline for the banquet is May 12. No reservations will be taken after that date and no one will be allowed to “walk in” on May 20.
The banquet is open to all GRUSBC members and to the public.
An election of officers and directors whose terms are up will take place as well. Two director positions are vacant.
For reservations or for information about serving on the board of directors, send an email to Association Manager Mike Pettinella at mikep@bowlgr.com or call 585-343-3736.
The GRUSBC includes bowling centers in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties.
