Suffolk OTB casino could go to Medford site

The former site of a movie multiplex near Long Island Expressway Exit 64 in Medford has emerged as a contender for Suffolk Off-Track Betting Corp.'s electronic slot machine casino, Town of Brookhaven and business sources said.

The theater has been razed, but a parking lot for about 2,000 cars remains at the 35-acre site. Helping make it viable is that it is in the middle of the county, has room for expansion, and land costs far less than along the Route 110 corridor.

It is the most easterly of five potential sites, though several miles west of what was once Parr Meadows, a quarter-horse track near Exit 68, which was supposed to become a gambling bonanza in the 1970s but went bust. OTB officials declined to comment. -- Rick Brand