Press Release:

Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced the on-sale dates for several upcoming events taking place this fall at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel.

On Friday, September 22, the Ricky Palermo Foundation Comedy Night will be held inside Park Place. Attendees will receive admission to a night of comedy, a free drink, a buffet dinner, and $25 in Free Play. Tickets can be purchased at rickypalermofoundation.org.

Monday, September 25 will be Batavia Downs’ Oktoberfest featuring music from Fritz’s Polka Band. This free event will run from Noon - 3 p.m. The Homestretch Grill doors will be open and several Polish food specials will be available.

On Saturday, September 30, the 3rd annual Vodka & Gin Fest, presented by Deep Eddy Vodka and Ford’s Gin will take place from 4 to 6:30 p.m. For $40, attendees will have access to vodka and gin sampling as well as grazing stations and receive $25 in free play as well as a free program and $5 wager on that evening’s races at Batavia Downs. Designated Driver tickets will also be available. $35 early bird tickets are now on sale at BataviaConcerts.com for a limited time.

WBBZ’s popular show, Polka Buzz, will tape their show inside the Park Place Room on Thursday, October 5 – tickets and details will be available at a later date.

Batavia Downs’ famous Family Fun Day & Wiener Dog Races will take place on Sunday, October 15. Family-related activities will also take place including on-site entertainers, kettle corn stand, pumpkin decorating for kids 15 and under, carriage rides, and pony rides will take place from 12 - 2 p.m. with the wiener dog races commencing at 2 p.m. The time was moved up to accommodate guests who want to make sure they don’t miss the Buffalo Football game at 8:20 p.m. that evening.

The Batavia Bacchus Wine Festival will be happening on Sunday, November 5 from 1 - 3:30 p.m.  For $35, attendees will have access to wine sampling from local and national wineries as well as grazing stations. All attendees will receive $25 in free play. Designated Driver tickets will also be available. Tickets for this event will be on sale later in the fall. This event will take place well ahead of that night’s Buffalo Football game at 8:20 p.m. giving attendees time to watch the game after the event.

“Our event schedule remains jam-packed for the fall,” said Henry Wojtaszek, President and CEO of Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel. “We pride ourselves on providing a diverse variety of events for the people of Western New York.  Our guests will find that these events are fun, well run, and affordable.”

Tickets for other previously announced September events like the Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift Tribute show, the Elvis Tribute Show, and the Silent Disco are on sale now at BataviaConcerts.com.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Retired Educators (GCREA/RENY) will hold its spring meeting and luncheon on Wednesday, May 17 at noon at the Byron Presbyterian church. 

The speaker will be Ricky Palermo, who will bring members information about the Ricky Palermo Foundation for Spinal Cord injury Research. A collection will be taken to benefit the foundation. 

For information or reservations call 343-7346. If a member did not receive a newsletter, he or she may call 278-8558 to get one.

File photo by Howard Owens. Ricky Palermo in 2019 at one of his annual soccer clinics.

It is always an emotional boost for me to see how much comfort our foundation has brought to people that have become newly injured with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Just imagine yourself being away on a California vacation with your wife and two children and then the most unexpected catastrophe happens as you find yourself floating facedown because you just broke your neck in the ocean. You don’t know which hospital is the best for treating a SCI so, you are at the mercy of the first responders. Just when you find yourself with nowhere to turn, you get a phone call from The Miami Project (MP) to Cure Paralysis (the #1 spinal research center in the country). The reason that the MP has called you is because one of your friends was at the BRUCE in the USA concert that was put on by our Ricky Palermo Foundation. This friend got in touch with me and I in turn got in touch with the MP, and this family was able to have a plan that has many of the answers you were hoping for. This is the second time that this situation has come up this year. Last winter, a cousin of a close friend who lives in Minnesota suffered a SCI while snowmobiling. This family called their cousin that is a big supporter of our events and he was able to contact me and then I was able to put them in touch with the MP. Then the MP guided them to the nearest SCI rehab. I wish my family had a place like the MP to call when I was first injured in 1981, but the MP did not exist until 1985.

This year our events consisted of our annual soccer clinic, which brought in about 80 kids to learn skills from BHS girls varsity soccer coach Roger Hume. In early June, we hosted our largest event yet, as we had 1400 people attend a BRUCE in the USA concert at Batavia Downs And Gaming (a tribute band to Bruce Springsteen). This concert has really helped our main goal of spreading awareness of Spinal Cord Injuries, and then in early August, we hosted our 26 the annual Ricky Palermo Spinal Injury Golf Tournament. We are proud to say that these three events helped us donate more than $84,000 to our same four beneficiaries: UMMC’s Rochester Regional Health, Strong Memorial Hospital, Batavia’s GLOW YMCA (SCI) Bike Program and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. This brings our 26 year grand total to $1.8 million donated!

It was once again a thrill for me to bring our donation to NYC for the MPs 37th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner hosted by The Buoniconti Fund. This year’s dinner was held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Everyone in attendance (nearly 1000) was treated to a delicious dinner, a Beatles tribute band, several speeches by sports celebrities and an incredible update given by The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis’s CEO Dr. Barth Green, and leading SCI research scientist Dr. Dalton Dietrich.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTINUED TO SUPPORT ME!!

Your friend, Ricky Palermo
www.RickyPalermofoundation.org
Follow us on Facebook – the Ricky Palermo Spinal Injury Tournament And Fundraiser to Cure Paralysis.
A Healthy, Happy Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Ricky Palermo couldn’t have been more appreciative this morning as he accepted a $20,000 check from Henry Wojtaszek, president and chief executive officer of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., to support the Ricky Palermo Foundation for spinal injury research.

The funds represent ticket sales, food vendor and chair rental fees from the "Bruce in the USA" concert that took place on June 10 at Batavia Downs Gaming on Park Road.

Palermo credited Ryan Hasenauer and the marketing department staff at WROTB for making the concert happen and the community for getting behind it.

“We've never done anything this big before,” he said in front of a small gathering in the casino lobby. “I can’t say enough how much we appreciate it. Every time we had a question either Henry or Ryan or one of the girls would get back to me. It made life a lot easier.”

He said that the foundation has raised more than $1.7 million over the past 26 years.

“It’s kind of amazing when you think about that,” he said. “We couldn't do it without the help of everybody -- everybody in our community.”

Palermo noted that people who attended the concert have reached out to him, looking for answers in regard to getting help for a spinal injury.

Contributions to the Ricky Palermo Foundation are distributed to four entities, Palermo said. Those are United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, the bicycle program for spinal injured people at the Genesee Area Family YMCA and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

“A small chunk goes to Strong Memorial because they took care of me when I first got hurt, so I want to make sure to remember them,” he said.

Wojtaszek said the Downs plans to host another event next year to support the Ricky Palermo Foundation.

The foundation’s 26^th annual golf tournament is scheduled for Aug. 6 at Terry Hills Golf Course on Clinton Street Road. Palermo said it will be a “golf only” event with a take-home chicken and pork barbecue dinner.

Photo: Ricky Palermo accepts $20,000 check from Henry Wojtaszek this morning at Batavia Downs Gaming. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Ricky Palermo, front center, talks about his Foundation during a "Rock With Ricky" fundraiser concert Friday at Batavia Downs Gaming in Batavia. Bruce in the USA, a tribute band to the boss and his E Street band, was the first concert of the season and the first time the Ricky Palermo Foundation partnered with Batavia Downs to further its cause of raising awareness and money for spinal cord research. Palermo's Foundation has raised and donated $1.7 million for the community and research at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.  Photo by Nick Serrata.

A commemorative T-shirt for the Ricky Palermo Foundation's "Rock with Ricky" concert Friday at Batavia Downs Gaming in Batavia. Photo by Nick Serrata.

 

Press release:

Representatives from Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel and the Ricky Palermo foundation today donated over 3,300 tickets to the Genesee County Veterans Service Agency for the upcoming concerts at Batavia Downs.

The first concert, featuring Bruce in the USA, the World’s #1 Tribute to Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, will take place on Friday, June 10^th.  100% of the proceeds from ticket sales, chair rental and raffles that day will go to the Ricky Palmero Foundation for Spinal Cord Research.  The fifth Rockin’ the Downs concert series, presented by Pepsi, will start the following week on Friday, June 17^th.

“We are happy to extend these complimentary tickets to our local veterans, “said Henry Wojtaszek, President and CEO of Batavia Downs and a retired member of the US Navy.  “We thank all the men and women of the Armed Forces for all that they have done and continue to do for our great nation.”

“Our Ricky Palermo Foundation has worked with many veterans and veteran agencies throughout the years,” said Ricky Palermo, President and CEO of the Ricky Palermo Foundation.  “Just like Batavia Downs has done in years past, we too wanted to extend complimentary tickets to our concert for area Veterans to thank them for their service.”

“We are grateful to receive tickets for all 11 concerts, said William Joyce, Director of the Veterans Service Agency of Genesee County.  “Our area Veterans love going to the concerts and we are pleased to be able to extend this opportunity to them once again.”

Tickets can be purchased to all Batavia Downs Events including the Ricky Palmero Charity Concert at BataviaConcerts.com

About Batavia Downs/WROTB
Western Region Off-Track Betting Corporation is a public benefit corporation with headquarters in Batavia, NY. WROTB owns and operates 10 branches, as well as Batavia Downs Gaming, a standard bred racetrack and gaming facility. Since its inception, Western Region OTB has generated over $232 million in operating and surcharge revenues to the taxpayers of participating municipalities.

About The Ricky Palermo Foundation
When we first started our foundation, we started small, hosting a cut-a-thon and selling T-shirts that raised a total of five thousand dollars for The Miami Project. In 1996, with the help of my family and close friends, we started The Ricky Palermo Spinal Injury Golf Tournament. Our first year we set a goal to raise five thousand dollars. By the end of the day we had raised eleven thousand, exceeding our goal by over fifty percent. Fast forward to today, our tournament is one of the largest in Western New York with 200 plus golfers, raffles, fun, and even a helicopter golf ball drop. Our foundation has grown into more than just raising awareness and money. We have annual comedy shows, soccer, basketball and lacrosse clinics, and dinners with both live and silent auctions. In 25 years, we have donated $1.7 million to our community and to research at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

About the Veterans Service Agency of Genesee County
The Veterans Service Agency of Genesee County Provides services for veterans and their families.   We assist with filing claims and obtaining psychological, employment, and financial counseling.  We also offer assistance in military review of discharges and in obtaining New York State benefits.  Services are free to veterans, spouses, widows, and children of veterans.

We are honored to be partnering with Batavia Downs gaming to host the first of its kind fundraising concert that will benefit our local UMMC Hospital (Rochester Regional Health), our new YMCA, Strong Memorial Hospital and research at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

Now in its fifth year as a concert venue, Batavia Downs has been averaging about 3000 to 5000 concertgoers per show as part of their Rockin The Downs Concert Series. Although our Concert is not part of this series and tickets must be purchased separately, we are hoping to draw the same kind of crowd with our Nationally recognized headliner Bruce In The USA and local guests including 97 Rock’s Dave “DJ” Jickster and Comedian Nick Marra. As an added bonus from our friends at Batavia Downs everyone that buys a ticket will receive a $15 free play. . “Wouldn’t it be amazing if a bunch of the concertgoers went back inside at the end of the night and won lots of money, with their free play”?

This concert will be the largest event that we have ever attempted and we are very excited to bring so many people together for yet another fun fundraising event. Sponsorship opportunities include special seating, tickets to the show, $30 of free play, signage, verbal promotion, and shout-outs during the concert. For more information about our three sponsorship tiers, visit RickyPalermoFoundation.

Tickets are selling nicely so if you want to look into joining our concert you can go to my site www.RickyPalermofoundation.org OR go to EVENTS while looking at the Batavia Downs concerts. You could also look for our QR code, which will also guide you to the information needed to buy tickets.

Special thanks to Batavia Downs CEO Henry Wojtaszek, Concert Manager Ryan Hasenauer, Kathy Paradowski and so many others who have been great to work with.

The Ricky Palermo foundation announced today that a charity concert will be taking place at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel on Friday, June 10^th.  All proceeds from tickets sales will go directly to the Ricky Palermo Foundation to fund spinal cord research.

The concert will be headlined by Bruce in the USA, the World’s #1 Tribute to Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band.  It is a high-energy musical experience that is a note-perfect and visually accurate recreation of a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band show.  The band consists of seasoned world class professional musicians and has toured all over the globe for more than 15 years. 

“We were honored that Ricky thought of us when he and his foundation were looking for a place to hold their show,” said Henry Wojtaszek, President and CEO for Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel. “Through the concert we hope to assist Ricky and his foundation to not just raise funds but also awareness of spinal cord research.”

“Our Ricky Palermo Foundation has been finding many ways to raise awareness and much needed money to help our community and find a cure for spinal cord injuries,” said Ricky Palermo, President and CEO of the Ricky Palermo Foundation.  “A large portion of the money raised from this year's concert on June 10th will be staying in our community as we donate to our local YMCA and UMMC, Rochester Regional Health, as well as the Strong Memorial Hospital Spinal Injury Unit and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.  Our Foundation would like to thank the Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel staff for partnering with us as we continue to find yet another way to bring people together. We normally have an annual golf tournament, comedy shows, soccer clinics, dinners with live and silent auctions but this is our first attempt at such a huge concert. Everyone has been so generous and supportive as they continue to help our foundation which has raised over $1.7 million in 25 years.  I would like to give a special THANK YOU to my committee that has continued to help me find different ways to have fun and raise much needed money for spinal cord research.”

Tickets for the concert are on sale now at www.BataviaConcerts.com.

Ticket prices for the concert match what Batavia Downs does for their summer concert series:  $15 for General Admission, $30 for VIP, $50 for Premium.  Front row tickets for $75 have already sold out, but additional tickets in the front row may go on sale at a later time.  All tickets can be redeemed at Player’s Club at any time in the three days following the concert for $15 Free Play to be used on one of Batavia Downs Gaming’s 800+ gaming machines. This event is a stand-alone event and is not a part of the Rockin' the Downs summer concert series. Purchased season passes for the concert series will not be honored for this concert.

 

We stopped in for a quick chat with Ricky Palermo at Terry Hills on Saturday during his annual golf tournament to benefit spinal injury research.

More than 100 young soccer players turned out today for the annual clinic at the Batavia Sports Park hosted by Ricky Palermo and the Ricky Palermo Foundation.