Brown poised to be the state’s top-paid OTB exec

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Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Photo by Garrett Looker.

This story was updated Sept. 25 at 4:07 p.m.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown stands to be the highest-paid OTB executive in New York should he accept the offer to be Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s new president and CEO.

OTB’s personnel committee approved the terms of a contract during a two-hour closed-door session Wednesday afternoon. Board members would not disclose the terms of the offer, including salary and start date. The full board is expected to vote on the contract offer to Brown on Thursday, at which time officials said they would disclose the contract details.

Henry Wojtaszek, OTB’s current boss, earns $299,000, substantially more than the $180,250 to $250,000 paid to other top OTB executives. Two board members told Investigative Post salary numbers bandied about for Brown range from $275,000 to $350,000.

Pay in that range would be as good or better than that of some private-sector racetracks and casinos. The head of Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, for example, is said to make around $280,000. That operation is owned by Delaware North. 

At least one OTB board member has advocated for the new CEO to earn above $300,000, according to Schuyler County Director Paul Bartow. Bartow said he favors a salary closer to $275,000.

Regardless of his compensation package, Brown is in for a big raise. As mayor, he currently earns a $178,518 salary. 

The city is a much larger operation than OTB, with an operating budget of $602 million this year and a staff of 2,770. 

Western OTB, meanwhile, expects to pull in revenue of $102 million this year, leaving it with a $53 million operating budget after statutory payments to the state. The agency had 469 employees as of last year.

Brown was selected to head Western OTB at a special meeting Sept. 5 though he has not yet accepted the job offer. He and OTB leadership — namely Dennis Bassett, chairman of the board, members of the search committee and senior staff — are continuing to negotiate a contract. Board members told Investigative Post they expect to discuss, and possibly vote to approve, a contract at their regularly scheduled meetings on Wednesday and Thursday.

Bassett did not respond to a question about what pay Brown had requested or been offered but did say he and others were “working” to bring the matter to a vote this week.

City spokesperson Mike DeGeorge similarly did not respond to a question about what pay Brown could earn.

The CEO of Long Island’s Suffolk OTB earns $250,000. The CEO of the island’s Nassau OTB is paid $230,000. The CEO of Capital OTB, based in Albany, earns $220,000. And the CEO of Catskill OTB, New York’s fifth, pays its CEO $180,250.

Some OTB observers, meanwhile, question Brown’s hiring. It’s “a good example of why the public sees Western OTB as a nest of cronyism and patronage,” said John Kaehny, executive director of the good government organization Reinvent Albany.

“It's a remnant of political bosses and corruption and party machines that should have been swept away a long, long time ago,” Kaehny said. “And yet, here we are.”

Michael Kane, the Western OTB’s former CEO and current president and executive director of the New York Gaming Association, said he was a “little surprised” Brown could earn above $300,000 but said he trusted OTB to manage its budget.

“Do I think it’s excessive? No, I’m not going to say that,” he said. “I’m sure Western knows its business model and what the expectation is of Mr. Brown.”

Bartow, of Schuyler County, said he would prefer a $275,000 salary and one-year contract for Brown. That’s due to Brown’s experience in government but not the gaming industry, Bartow said, noting that the agency should give Brown a trial run before signing a longer contract. 

“You want a graceful way to end things” if it doesn’t work out, he said. “He will have to hit the ground running.”

Brown was selected for the CEO role in part due to his relationships in Albany, board members told Investigative Post. OTB is looking to amend or change several state racing and gaming laws to ensure its survival as horse racing declines in popularity, they said. Presently, OTB’s penny and nickel slot machines subsidize its harness track. Its state license to operate the slots, however, is contingent on it operating a racetrack. 

Among changes sought is permission to place EZ-Bet terminals in Buffalo. That’s currently not allowed due to Hamburg Gaming, which Delaware North operates, having effective veto power over the machines placed within 30 miles of its facility.

Bartow said he’s optimistic about Brown joining OTB.

“It’s an evolutionary shift. It’s exciting,” he said. “We want to do it in the most productive way possible.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated with salary information from Catskill OTB.

J. Dale Shoemaker