In a previous post I had talked a little bit about this new trend in town: the street lottery. I had been hearing stories of the wonderful prizes and overall cheerful experience. I had also heard stories of violence resulting from people trying to cheat. I had been meaning to take a closer look at the phenomenon. A couple of days ago, one of my wife's cousins (who recently returned from a failed exile in Chile) told her about this sort of itinerant lottery that was going to be set right on her street (she lives a few blocks from us). Thus, agains my best judgement, I dediced to give it a try and witness first-hand the new Venezuelan entertainment.
This is a sample of the cards or cartones. They cost $2 each (3 for $5 was the "special" of the day) and you can play the whole night with them with a chance to win something in any of the eight or nine draws of the night, including the final one for a car. Each set of eight images is considered a cartón or puñito, so every card has 6 cartones. Some of the draws or hands demand filling one or two cartones (one or two groups of six). There are more than a hundred images, so the possibilities of winning are 1 in thousands. We have never been fond of gambling, so we just went there to study the thing and have a differen saturday evening.
This was the flier for Saturday's lottery. It says it would start at 4:00 pm, but the damn thing started at 8 (that will give you an idea of how punctual we are and how massively chaotic the logistics can get).
We arrived at about 6:00 pm. We could see the crowd from blocks away.
Even though the lottery is being played around town (a different sector every weekend) we could tell by the cars that there were tons of people from other parts of town. They closed several blocks.
It was crazy. There were more people than in any holiday celebration I have ever seen (including carnival). It was as if all the celebrations cancelled because of the pandemia got together in one place at the same time. There were people selling all kinds of things. My wife's cousin has been selling sweets/deserts since she came back from Chile. Even though she prepares delicious things, she did not sell much that night. People were more into drinking and fast food.
People had carried chairs and tables from their homes (some walked dozens of blocks to get here)
There was loud music and an even louder animador (host). Actually, the guy was so vulgar, we were about to leave before the lottery started. Some people complained about his language and he said outloud that that was an adult entertainment and children should be at home sleeping (as if they would not hear his cursing anyway).
I think that half of the crowd were children. We were in the middle of the thing. I could not even get a decent picture of the stage where the sound, the lights, and the dirty-mouthed animador was. There was a guest singer who was supposed to make everyone dance, but she sang just a couple of songs while people got desperate (some had been waiting for 4 hours). There was no room for dancing anyway (at least not as we dance here). People jumped un and down, though, as you'll see in the video.
We decided to eat something before the damn thing started. 50-cent hotdogs. They were good. My wife got some more a couple of hours later.
The lottery started at about 8:30 and from then until midnight it was a party. Tension during the minutes of the actual drawing, and then joking and cheering for the winners of the different prizes. There was only one tense incident with someone who won a surprise prize (a smart phone). The woman was so far from the stage that the host did not hear when she cried "lottery!". She ran through the crowd, but the idiot kept drawing and, according to the rules if a new image is drawn after the one you won with, that is considered a "pass" and you can't claim the prize.
There was a bit of an argument, but the crowd was with the winning lady and she got her smart phone.
We were never very close to winning any of the draws (which is good becasue being close to winning and losing produces a certain rush that may get you sick). I was looking around at some people's desperation because they were "waiting" for this or that image to be drawn; they were so close! and then, they would curse the host when the image they were waiting for was drawn in the next round.
We had a good time, all things considered. We were near people we knew and even though the crowd was a lot for what we are used to (boring weekends at home), it felt good to be surrounded by people in a cheerful mode.
This is crazy; the whole lottery thing. I'm not sure what this will end up being in the long run. In the meantime, this is creating a venting mechanism for people to get out of their depressing selves and get some distraction from the daily worries. I may be a bit afraid of this creating too much of a distraction and dependence.
Gambling tends to increase in times of crises here.
Here's a short video so you can feel the vibe of the night.
After all the noise and exhilaration, people picked up their chairs and tables forming an army of giant aunts,
walking back home quietly like the night.
Thanks for stopping by
I like the 50 cent hot dogs!
I remember in Spain they went mental over lotteries🤣
If I was the lady who had won the smartphone and did not get it, I would been royally pissed off! That host sounds like a complete arse!
It was good to get out. Funnily enough I was at a carnival here in our town at Easter, first time in two years I had been in a crowd of people. It felt weird but great to be alive!
😂
The host was an arse, but that's the profile that is needed to get notoriety in public events. It comes with the social degradation resulting from 20+ years of mediocracy.
I can share the mixed feelings of being in this sort of crowd. Sometimes, I can understand most people's unwillingness to think too deeply about anything and just go with the crowd.
Yes I agree, sometimes it is just a case of fuck it and go with the flow!
I would have thought you'd drink juice to get ready for lottery instead of eating sausage, but it's also good.
By the way, I had a problem logging into my account via hive.blog
do you also have this problem or no?
Well, well! Bueno, bueno. A mí, entre otras cosas, me deja pasmada la facilidad con que hablan de los premios: que si $1000, $2000( una lotería en la Llanada). Nada, nada bueno puede salir de allí. No creo en la suerte y menos en este tipo de escenarios. La picardía allí debe ser terrible. ja ja ja. Ojalá la moda pase rápido ( y la gente consiga trabajo real). Ya que estos va a dejar más arruinados que afortunados.
Absolutely. Esto lo hice como un experimento y por aquello de "decir, yo se, no es saber; probando es como se sabe..."
Nuestra historia de dependencia en la providencia (divina o del azar) es de antología. Buena parte de nuestras desgracias tienen su origen en este frenesí colectivo informado por la desesperación y la ignorancia (la ingenua idea de que con un "golpe de suerte" resolveremos).
Si, otra faceta en la que se percibe este gran atraso que hemos tenidos en estos años. mSaludos . Un abrazo.
Hi Henry
It looks very festive. I'm not a gambling type myself but if you do this kind of thing with no expectation of winning and it's purely for entertainment purposes, then I think it's worth the outing.
Hi, @andrastia
Absolutely. That's the key. Most people come to these events (and here lies the danger of them) with high expectations. They are willing to sacrifice their budget to "invest" on an easy way out.
I was told once that people should gamble only the amount of money they can afford to lose, that will not affect them at all.
I am amazed. The number of people I have seen playing the lottery does not match what you are showing us. If anything, I've seen 20 or 30 people at the most.
The lottery game I know is entirely for adults. Vulgarity is common in the comments of those who sing it and those who carry the cards.
I lived very close the euphoria of many people when playing. It is a lot of fun for them. It is preferably played outdoors and as you have said, everyone sings as they like, some eat, others drink and everyone enjoys.
In the east of my country the lottery is a tradition. I am really amazed reading your post. They have practically turned this tradition into a fair.
Many people don't take a good look at the fact that the streets are closed or the free traffic is hindered to be playing.
I like to see people enjoying themselves and being happy. Playing is part of the Venezuelan's recreation. Everything has its pros and cons.
I send you greetings and good luck for next time ☺️🌿😊
😂
Thanks, but there won't be a next time. I had enough gambling and crowd for a lifetime.
The whole things is very problematic. I don't approve it. I attended this time just to witness the whole thing first-hand.
The list of problems this generates is long.
I hope this does not last long.
Thanks for stopping by.
It won't last long, you'll see. This type of event causes unrest among the inhabitants of the community.
I read a comment in which they mention La Llanada, I have been around those parts. I hope you don't have problems with my uncles 🤭.
Be well!
Oh, boy.
I'll keep that in mind. It's been a while since I last visited La Llanada. Most barrios these days are potentially dangerous. The city as a whole is less scary than some years ago, but there's danger looming everywhere.
What people fear more these days is the complicity of the police
It appears that insecurity reigns in all states of the country. No one doubts the complicity of police agents. Unfortunately, it is an undeniable evil. Greetings!
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