‘La bolita,’ Cuban lottery offering hope in tough times

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) -- 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 by AFP wit...