by Jack Potter
Betting is in the blood in Nicaragua. Gambling opportunities abound here. At a baseball stadium, for example, fans in the stands will bet on games, innings, and even the outcome of the next pitch thrown.
For those wanting to bet at county fairs, there is a cornucopia of contraptions such as the Casa chica/grande Nicaraguan 18-space roulette, spinning wheels clicking around to bills pinned on with clothes pegs, and blocks of wood threaded with strings that have a prize or not at the end. Sometimes a monkey pulls the string or a parakeet pecks up a card from a box.
There’s always cards with different games, like desmoche with its flexible rules, while the red/black moon/halfmoon two-dice toss offers opportunities to bet on other people’s bets.