The American Totalisator Company, known today as AmTote International (often referred to as AmTote), specializes in
totalisator
A tote board (or totalisator/totalizator) is a numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track (to display the odds or payoffs for each horse) or at a telethon (to display the total amount donated to the chari ...
equipment used to control
parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...
at
horse racing,
greyhound racing, and
jai-alai
Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also oft ...
facilities.
The company was founded by
Harry L. Straus, a computer engineer from Baltimore whose interest in a fairer system of calculating and displaying odds and payouts on parimutuel betting came after an incident in 1927 at a
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
racetrack, when a horse listed at 12:1 odds won, but paid off at 4:1. Straus began developing his machine, the totalisator or “tote board” out of telephone relays in 1928.
Straus' new company installed its first equipment at
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, which displayed odds and payouts on illuminated boards, now known as "
tote board
A tote board (or totalisator/totalizator) is a numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track (to display the odds or payoffs for each horse) or at a telethon (to display the total amount donated to the chari ...
s". In 1933, American Totalisator installed its first complete electro-mechanical tote system at
Arlington Park
Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago reg ...
in
Arlington Heights, Illinois.
The Strauss patents 2,179,698 issued 11/14/39 and 2,182,875, issued 12/12/39 were a platform to build AmTote's growth as the once dominant provider of totalizator solutions in North America.
AmTote has installed more than 800 tote systems throughout the world. The original electro-mechanical devices have given way to fully computerized systems where bettors place and collect wagers at the same window, self-service betting terminals,
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
- and
telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
-based wagering, and "hub" systems to facilitate
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...
wagering.
The "classic style" AmTote display consists of 24 bulbs, 6 high by 4 wide.
AmTote's numeric displays were often seen on television
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
s in the 1950s and 1960s, most notably the original version of ''
The Price is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
.'' The company was also an investor in the
manufacturer
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
of the original
UNIVAC
UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company an ...
computer system.
The company is based in
Hunt Valley, Maryland
Hunt Valley is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the Maryland Hunt Cup Steeplechase. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore, along York Road (Maryland Route 45), parallel to Interstat ...
. It was once owned by
General Instrument
General Instrument (GI) was an American electronics manufacturer based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, specializing in semiconductors and cable television equipment. They formed in New York City in 1923 as an electronics manufacturer. During the 1950s, ...
and later sold to a division of
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...
. Today, AmTote International is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of
The Stronach Group
Stronach Group, doing business as 1/ST, is an entertainment and real estate company in North America with Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core.[Tote board
A tote board (or totalisator/totalizator) is a numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track (to display the odds or payoffs for each horse) or at a telethon (to display the total amount donated to the chari ...](_blank ...<br></span></div>, the corporate parent of several race tracks, including Pimlico.
<h1><br><p> See also</h1></p>
* <div class=)
References
{{reflist
External links
AmTote International web site
Sports betting
Companies based in Hunt Valley, Maryland
Stronach Group