Byron Brown was walking through the Batavia Downs lobby when two ladies approached him and gave him a warm welcome.
Brown chatted with them for a few minutes then gave each a $25 certificate to use at one of Batavia Downs' video lottery terminal games.
"It's all about being open and being welcoming," Brown said.
It is been slightly more than 18 months since Brown left Buffalo City Hall following serving as its mayor from 2016 to 2024 and took over as president and CEO of Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp., an organization with 440 employees and runs the entire Batavia Downs complex that includes the gaming center, an 84-room hotel, seasonal horse racing plus a variety of restaurants and bars.
In 2025 - the first full year of Brown's WROTB tenure, the organization reported a record $1.2 billion in total dollars generated by its various operations.
From that, nearly $13 million made its ways to its 17 upstate community partners including $1.3 million to Buffalo and $3 million to Erie County.
"Our marketing strategy is simple: We focus on winning," Brown said.
Last year, WROTB delivered more than $251 million in winnings for its patrons.
Because of any aggressive marketing approach in Buffalo, Rochester, Genesee County and the Finger Lakes region, Brown said Batavia Downs - in 2025 - reported a 15% spike in visitors. Early 2026 numbers are projecting well, even with rising gas prices.
""People love the customer experience," Brown said.
But, it is not all kumbaya at Batavia Downs.
New York Comptoller Thomas DiNapoli issued a scathing report on WROTB's operations - covering a period between January 2021 and December 2024.
Brown was only at WROTB of the last two months of the audit period.
"There was nothing in there that I didn't already know and want to change," Brown said.
In fact, before he took the job, Brown presented the WROTB Board of Directors a two-part report that focused on internal changes that made the organization more transparent with its operations and very much aligned with DiNapoli's recommendations.
"Quite frankly, the board supporting all of the reforms we brought to them," Brown said. "I didn't have to give them a hard sell."
Among the changes Brown implemented:
* No more use of its suites at Highmark Stadium or KeyBank Center for friends and family.
Now, the suites will only be used as business-only perks such as wooing new sponsors.
* Gone are the rampant distribution of "free play" cards.
They can only be used for promotional purposes as defined by state gaming commission guidelines.
"We will only do things the right way," Brown said.
As for Batavia Downs future, Brown wants to add 76 more hotel rooms to the current 84-room building.
Hotel occupancy is up 16% in the past year, typically running in the high 80s, Brown said.
"If we had more rooms, we could do more things," Brown said.
Also in the development pipeline is building a special events center, something Brown said would generate more revenues.
Batavia Downs is losing the chance to host special events because it lacks space,
"We are losing money because we don't have enough space," Brown said.
Final plans on both should be ready later this year.
"We are making strides," Brown said.
Byron Brown has a game plan for helping WROTB move forward
