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Only occasionally is the quiet at Winners Shoreline Star in Bridgeport on Thursday broken with shouts of "Come on," asbettors hold tickets in their hands that, for just a moment beforethe horses hit the wire, represent the elation of victory or thedisgust of defeat. "Ah, shoot!" said Art Dupree , a retired letter carrier and one of the regulars at Shoreline."Oh, well. That's the way it goes." Dupree has a swirl of tickets in front of him and a couple ofnewspapers, one of which he's been studying as each race comes upat Belmont Park in New York. In the sixth, he had a small wager onLove In the Rain. His horse was leading coming into the final turnwhen it suddenly looked like it was running in wet cement, andQuorum, Sokitumi Samurai and Revere roared past. It's a mellow afternoon for the regulars who place bets rightbefore the post. "You can hear yourself think," Dupree said. But that's not expected to be the situation on Saturday when --thanks to one horse -- owners of Shoreline Star and the off-trackbetting system in Connecticut, along with bars across the state,expect a boom in business. I'll Have Another and jockey Mario Gutierrez left the gate as a 16-to-1 longshot and shocked the racing worldat the Kentucky Derby in May, reeling in Bodemeister in the final 300 yards to win. Theyrepeated their come-from-behind victory at the Preakness and nowhave a shot at becoming the first Triple Crown winner sinceAffirmed won the three major races in 1978. Some very good horsesand jockeys stand in their way, including Dullahan, which finishedthird in the Derby. But this Triple Crown bid couldn't come at a better time forSportech Inc., the United Kingdom-based company that took overConnecticut's pari-mutuel betting system 18 months ago and pumped$3 million into upgrading the facilities and systems at the 15venues. Sportech has rebranded the venues with the Winners name. Thefarthest southern location is in Norwalk, but it also has venues inMilford and Waterbury. Ted Taylor , Sportech managing director, said the company saw potential in theConnecticut system that suffered from neglect over the years. "We had to come in and stabilize the business," he said. Taylor said the idea is to make customers feel comfortable andprovide an enjoyable experience with better furniture, televisionsand service. The company repainted, redid the floors, changed theflow into the place and created a VIP room. "It's really common sense," he said, noting that staff is availableto help people bet on big race days. The goal is to make the venues inviting to regular bettor and thecasual fan, Taylor said, and the Triple Crown is the best chanceWinners has to attract new fans. Steve Alford , general manager of Shoreline, has worked at the Bridgeportlocation since 1995 when there was still greyhound racing there. He said this year's Triple Crown has been fantastic, describing itas "absolutely crazy" on race day, and I'll Have Another is a bigpart of that. "Usually, during the race, I just walk through making sureeverything is going alright," Alford said. "But I stopped andwatched the Derby and was pulling for I'll Have Another." This year, betting on the Kentucky Derby at Connecticut pari-mutuelsites was up 11 percent, according to the state Department of Consumer Protection , which regulates Winners. The Preakness was up 2 percent. "They've broken away from the old stigma that the OTBs had," said Bill Ryan , state gaming regulator. "They had a good day for the KentuckyDerby. That was a record for the OTB in Connecticut." And that means the state is winning. Since Sportech took over the business, it is up 2.5 percent overalland that translates into higher revenue as Connecticut and thetowns that host the OTBs get a small percentage of the wagers. "In the 2010/2011 fiscal year, a little over $183 million waswagered," Ryan said. "The state's general fund received about $3.7million, and the towns that host the sites got a little over $3million ... Prior to (Sportech), it had been going down." It's not uncommon for the betting to be huge for the Kentucky Derbyand then to see a fall off in Preakness and Belmont betting, butwith I'll Have Another, expectations are for a big day. "It always helps to have a Triple Crown contender," said Paul Reiman , the state's off-track betting unit supervisor. "Belmont (Park) isalready selling reserved tickets." The important thing for gamblers, Reiman said, is to make sure youget the bet you ask for, so before leaving the window, make sureyou have the numbers you wanted. OTB isn't the only one expecting a surge in business. Some bars runpools on the race where everyone kicks in some money and the winnertakes the pot. Reiman said these are unregulated private pools and as long as thewinner gets all the money and the bar doesn't take a cut, the statehas no interest in them. At Buffalo Wild Wings in Stamford, there won't be a pool, butgeneral manager Tim Blaire is expecting a big crowd. "We're excited about it -- the potential for a Triple Crown," hesaid, adding that Wild Wings got decent crowds for the first tworaces. But this is the deciding one, and he's hoping I'll HaveAnother pulls it off. "I want the Triple Crown. I think everybody would like to see thatbecause it hasn't happened in so long," Blaire said. "It'd be greatfor the sport and anytime it boosts the sport, it's good for us." Wild Wings also has bars in Danbury and Milford. Other bars in thearea confirmed they planned to have pools if there is enoughinterest, though they were loathe to give their names. Ultimately, this year's Belmont is about seeing a horse and jockeyreach for immortality in their profession. That it is so difficultis one reason you might not see a lot of regulars putting money onI'll Have Another. But even the most cerebral bettors can get sweptup in the excitement. "I'll Have Another -- that's some horse," said Rafael Velazquez , at Shoreline. "You throw him in with a long shot." He said he would bet I'll Have Another to win with a long-shot toplace. But he said you have to study it and remember why it hasn't beendone in more than 30 years. "Any horse can come through that day and rock and roll," Velazquezsaid. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Dental Zirconia Crowns Manufacturer , IPS e.max, and more. For more , please visit Crowns And Bridges today!
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