Hitting the lotto in secret

CUBA: BETS ON CLANDESTINE 'LA BOLITA' GIVE HOPE OF EXTRA MONEY FOR STRUGGLING NATION

- 

Every day, as he has done for 20 years, Carlos makes the rounds collecting bets in central Havana for "la bolita" — a clandestine national lottery that provides a sliver of hope for Cubans struggling to make ends meet.

Betting has been illegal on the communist island for the past 66 years, but la bolita has persisted, and even grown, as Cubans see few other ways out of economic misery.

"People are betting more than ever," said Carlos, who, like others interviewed, withheld his real name for fear of getting into trouble.

Carlos, in his 40s, is a "pointer" — the human interface for Cubans who place bets that start at just a few pesos they hope to multiply with the intervention of Lady Luck.