NEW YORK, NY June 16, 2008 —A last-minute deal yesterday between the city and the state will keep Off Track Betting open and its employees working. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: Under the agreement, the city will no longer run the 68 OTB's that operate locally. They'll be bundled into a newly formed corporation run by the state.

But as part of a three-year deal, the city will receive $7.5 million annually from OTB for the use of city-owned TV channels as well as local race tracks. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had made it clear Friday he was willing to proceed with a shutdown, putting pressure on state legislators to take over the franchise and later figure out how to make it financially viable.

The agreement is likely to be finalized in Albany today, allowing for all 1,500 OTB workers in the city to return to work this morning. For WNYC, I'm Arun Venugopal.