The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
CT OTB sites not part of Phase II reopening
Connecticut restaurant and sports bar owners can’t wait for the state’s Phase II reopening on June 17, which will allow them to serve customers indoors and add some much needed revenue.
Like those businesses, Connecticut Off Track Betting officials are anxious to reopen their 16 facilities statewide. But OTB management and the state are taking it slow.
“We’re closed statewide in the OTBs and will not be part of the Phase II re-opening on June 17,” Sportech President Ted Taylor said. Sportech is the company that operates Connecticut OTB. “We’ll be reopening our Bobby V’s Sports Bars that day, and have as much sports and racing as there is available to watch on the big screens. But we won’t be able to take live bets in the OTB side. Customers will have to bet online or on the phone until the OTBs are open again.”
Gov. Ned Lamont and the state do not put Connecticut OTB in the same category as restaurants due to the betting component. Taylor understands where the state is coming from. He is patient when it comes to a delayed OTB reopening and he wants to reopen in the right way that is safe for everyone. When OTB is ready to reopen, Taylor said it’s expected to be with a reduced occupancy.
“Most of the OTB locations will be able to reopen with reduced occupancy when we do reopen,” Taylor said. “That is because they’re big enough to be able to give enough space to the customer numbers and allow social distancing, etc.
“However, a couple of the smaller locations might not re-open immediately because they may be too small to cope with the different restrictions. We are being patient, but the bottom line is that we want to and need to reopen as soon as we can. We were unable to benefit from any of the PPP type loans so this has had a fairly dramatic impact on us. But we want to do it right.”
Taylor said OTB employees have been busy the past three weeks doing what
they can to get their facilities reopened. Safety, especially for the elderly who frequent OTB sites, is a priority.
“For the last few weeks, we’ve been setting each location up so that they are ready to comply with the mandated requirements to reopen while COVID-19 is still live,” Taylor said. “There are lots of challenges as we have an older customer base, and they will need to listen to us and may need to change their habits a little.
“They’re used to wandering around and chatting to the friends they see here daily over many years. Some of them will probably decide to start using the self-service machines or hand-held options as they’ll be quicker and easier than using the tellers.”
While the continuation of online betting on horseracing has helped financially, like the entire business industry, Connecticut OTB has been impacted financially by COVID-19
“Yes, COVID-19 is having a dramatic impact on the figures for the year,” Taylor said. “Missing March Madness was tough on the sports bar side and the peak
of our year is normally the Triple Crown. It’s happening, but we won’t be open in time for the Belmont.”
The Belmont Stakes was postponed from June 6 to June 20 and for the first time will be the first leg of the Triple Crown.
“We’ll be hoping that occupancy levels are more reasonable before the Kentucky Derby, which is in September,” Taylor said. Normally held the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby was rescheduled for Sept. 5. “And when we reopen, there are added costs like constant cleaning and sanitizing to keep customers safe. This isn’t going to help us in terms of helping control the day-to-day costs of operating the business. However, we will do this properly and in accordance with the regulations.
“We’re still hoping that the Governor manages to make sports betting happen this year and there’s a chance, albeit slim. It would definitely help us and the Tribes (Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos), albeit they’ve re-opened their businesses already, and those jobs and tax revenues are going to be very welcome the sooner they kick in.
“We don’t have a specific target date yet for our reopening.
But we’re working collaboratively with DECD (Department of Economic Community Development). I hope that it will be within a week or two of the Phase II re-openings planned for June 17.”