Batavia Downs Gaming

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 Batavian sat 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. So, you have no idea right now who will be coming in as directors? (Note: Longtime Genesee County director Richard Siebert resigned his position upon hearing of these changes, and the local Republican Party is in the process of appointing a replacement).
A. That’s correct.

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.

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.

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.”

Previously: State budget provision drastically changes structure, voting format of WROTB board of directors

Previously: County legislature chair on WROTB changes: 'Completely unfair, totally unnecessary'

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.

Press release:

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.