Putnam's OTB effort praised for convenience, calm

Putnam - A handful of older men pored over racing papers spread out on cafe tables and glanced up at the bank of TV sets displaying horse and dog races from across the country.

The sound was muted on the televisions, which were tuned to Calder Race Course, Churchill Downs, Palm Beach, Plainridge, Philadelphia Park and Aqueduct. Occasionally, someone would walk over to the off-track betting counter to place a bet.

It was hard to tell if anyone was winning or losing at the OTB facility that opened Sept. 9 at J.D. Coopers sports bar.

"It's not noisy around here,'' said Tina Reardon of Jewett City, the manager. "The crowd seems to like it quieter."

J.D. Coopers is the first in the state to offer off-track betting opportunities in a restaurant setting. The restaurant was open 20 years before adding OTB in September.

On a Friday afternoon, some bettors said they liked the convenience of J.D. Coopers over the casinos, while others questioned whether the OTB crowd could sustain the restaurant end of the business. Few wanted to speak for the record.

Gaming as an accessory use to a restaurant is the new business model for Autotote Inc., which operates 12 larger, betting-only facilities throughout the state, including Mohegan Sun's Race Book and Sports Haven in New Haven.

The company is seeking approval from the New London City Council to offer OTB at a sports bar yet to be built on Eugene O'Neill Drive. Former City Councilor William Cornish, who was approached by Autotote this past summer, wants to put in a restaurant at 24 Eugene O'Neill Drive that would feature horse and dog betting.

While there is support for the venture, many have questioned the idea, wondering why a city located just 20 miles from the casinos needs a gambling establishment downtown. Others worry it will attract an undesirable element.

As the city mulls the request, several councilors and some who spoke at a public hearing Nov. 16 said they visited J.D. Coopers and were impressed with the set-up.

"It's as good a restaurant as I've been in,'' said Councilor Kevin Cavanagh. "About 20 people came in with their racing sheets. Its seemed like a leisurely, recreational way to spend time."

J.D. Coopers leases space to Autotote, a subsidiary of Scientific Games. Autote purchased the OTB franchise from the state in 1993 and is regulated by the Connecticut Department of Special Revenue and the Gaming Policy Board. The state mandates Autotote pay 1.6 percent of its bets to the host community. In New London, that is expected to between $60,000 and $70,000 a year, about the same that is estimated for Putnam.

Earlier this month, the town of Putnam received its first monthly check from Autotote for $5,000. The facility has operated without controversy.

"No news is good news,'' said Robert Viens, mayor of this community of 9,200. "No one's calling and saying, 'Oh Bob, what have you done?'''

He said David Landry, the owner of J.D. Coopers, "wants to do what's right for the town and for his business."

Successful venture so far

Residents approved the OTB arrangement at a Town Meeting in September 2008. It took a year for approvals to be processed through the state.

Viens said he had concerns when the idea was first proposed. He, like many others, who remember the state-run OTB parlors of the 1970s and 1980s, were worried about what kind of clientele the new facility would bring into town.

"The comfort level I had is that they (Autotote) worked it into an existing and functioning business,'' Viens said. "Dave Landry is Putnam born and bred. He has an existing business and clientele. ... Autotote comes in here and runs an off-track betting place and David Landry still has total control over the restaurant."

Landry, who was juggling a Christmas party and a funeral reception on a recent Friday afternoon in his restaurant's banquet rooms, said so far the arrangement with OTB has been successful.

"There's nothing to fear,'' he said. "I run a family-style restaurant.''

The addition of OTB has brought in new afternoon business, but it has also cut down on evening business, he said. The sports bar catered to families who often came in on Friday nights for dinner and to play pool and other games. With OTB, no one under 21 can enter the bar.

Reardon, the OTB manager, spent 26 years working at the dog track in Plainfield and several years at Mohegan Sun before landing at J.D. Coopers.

"People seem to like it,'' she said. "For some it's a hobby. A lot have been playing the horses for years.''

Patrons tell her they like coming to the restaurant more than the casinos, where they have to park and walk to the betting areas.

" I like seeing daylight,'' she joked. The sports bar has a wall of windows that open to a patio. Railroad tracks are just a few feet away and a Providence and Worcester Railroad train goes by daily.

Daren Harvey of Danielson said he preferred to go to the casinos to bet - where the drinks are free - but J.D. Coopers is more convenient because it's closer.

"We're all trying to pick that perfect horse or dog,'' he said.

k.edgecomb@theday.com