OTB

I heard that there was some sort of police activity around the OTB last night, & while idly googling for information, came across Billy Boy. Who knew that the local OTB was the opening setting for a 'psychological crime thriller' currently available as an 'All Romance E-book'?  No mention of dates here, but I'm thinking it's set in the mid to late 80's.

The Off-Track betting parlor at the corner of Brooklyn's 12th Street and 5th Avenue didn't attract many local shoppers. But it had its loyal contingent of pensioners, laid off truck drivers, and a small but active fellowship that convened there for something other than the action at Belmont or Hialeah. The OTB especially came in handy for Billy Conover when he wanted to cop an ounce of pot or a handful of Black Beauties.  This morning he had a hangover which only a mega dose of ups could cure.

..."Tito around?" he asked a dope fiend who had been a junkie when Billy was still sucking his thumb. Fat now, and permanently stoned on the legal dose he picked up at his clinic, chased down with a pint of cheap wine, the meth-head held court at the OTB like a veteran warrior, one of few survivors of a generation decimated by overdoses, gunshot wounds and AIDS.

"Try Manny's."