I was thinking about driving down there (about 4 hrs away from me) and playing there. Wanted to know if anyone here has played there and walked out with money? Are they legit? Do they take bets with US money?
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Yes and they take big bets as well.
Well they used to, I don't know about now. They are legit though.Comment -
and I can bet with American money?Comment -
Oh definitely. American money is good everywhere in T.J. They prefer it actually.Comment -
I think the dollar is worth more than the peso. ( for now) They 100% take USD.
Bring your own money. if you hit an ATM down there you get to withdraw pesos!!! No joke brutha...Comment -
All sounds good. Being 20 its the only option I got if I want to go to a sportsbook.Comment -
Ah I remember being 20..
Funny story, I went to Vegas 6 months before my 21st b-day and of course tried to get some bets down at places.
Got carded and kicked out about 10 maybe even 12 times during the 3 day trip. Most of those times the security or whoever went up to me.
Went to Vegas again 6 months later for my 21st b-day and got carded one time in 4 days. And the one time I was carded it was me trying to cash out chips.
I always wonder if that was a coincendence or are the guys at Vegas that good at spotting underage people in the books.Comment -
Ha yeah would not be worth the risk of getting carded to drive to Vegas. I'm just gonna wait till I'm 21, day that happens I'm off to Vegas though!Comment -
The casinos will give you a wristband if you want, so you don't have to constantly prove that you are 21.Comment -
Caliente takes big pops I was in Cancun 2 times in last 8 months and bet there religiuosly when I was there seen guys betting LARGE on all eventsComment -
Be careful in a bad area, if you flash your money your done there.
Play on your own turf.Comment -
It could have been coincidence, but I have a feeling they're just good at judging comfort levels and confidence. I know that for me, just before my 19th birthday when I was attempting to use a fake ID, I got carded a lot more than right after I turned 19 and knew that I actually had a legal piece of ID.Comment -
The Caliente operation is the biggest in Mexico, and probably the biggest in the world, if not in terms of bucks booked than surely in terms of facilities
I thinkthey have close to 100 worldwide,most in Mexico but also Central and South America,and a few in Europe.
The funny thing is, when they began sports betting in 1989 they didn't have a clue. Didn't know which end was up. (Tho they'd been booking US horse betting for generations)
So they hired Roxborough to counsel them. Roxy sent in two guys to show them how to do it for a year - right, you guessed it, the two guys were setting phony lines and then betting into them themselves. Understand they got away with about 80 grand. Caliente never pressed charges, they figured it was a good learning experience, I guess
If you're underage and want to go to a book, this is a good place, especially the good ones at Pueblo Amigo (try the Border Book upstairs) or the one downtown at the old Jail Alai Fronton, 9th and Main St (Ave Revolucion) There is also one about a hundred yards from the border crossing, not high class but does the job.
Good ones also at Playas (Tijuana Beach) and in Rosarito and Mexicali. What I like about the Caliente books is that you can easily get a round table for yourself and friends, not the bleachers setup you see in Vegas.
What I don't like is that (1) you get hit with a 1.5% Mexican tax on the winning part of all sports bets, and a full 2% on the total payback for a horse bet winner; (2) You pay for the booze yourself, tho it's reasonable, and Mexican beer is good - try Dos Equis if you want to get a fast buzz on. Tecate is popular with Mexican, drink it with lime and salt. Corona, big with gringos, is more like mule piss.
You can park at the border (rate at secure lot can be $8 per 24 hours) or drive over and park. But park in a lot. The Border Book is just over the border, a half mile, stay on right after crossing and look for the big signs.
At the Border Book, on a weekend, you may be rubbing shoulders with some of the most wanted men in North America, the big drug cartelists. I used to see them, when I bet there, stroll to the window to toss 50 grand on a horse, without having a tip, without being able to read the Racing Form. All paid for by drug-crazed Americans.
You can run into big crowds either walking back or driving back on a Sat or Sun or Mon. Best time either driving or walking is between 10PM and midnight on a SAt. Otherwise, expect walking delays of an hour or more to cross back, and up to 3 hours driving.
If you are plannning to make acquaintance with the famous local whores start another thread, & i'll give info on that, tho I no longer go that route.Comment -
Ritehook, thanks for that very good writeup!
Do you know if they (Caliente) have any locations in other tourist areas of Mexico such as Acapulco, Cozumel, Mazatlan, or Cancun?
Tijuana is not a likely vacation destination for me or anyone else I know but Mexico will be someplace I'd likely visit this winter.Comment -
It use to be a good place to get ketamine.Comment -
Caliente is in most resort towns. I've been to the locations in Acapulco and Cabo along with many near the border.Comment -
[[I]QUOTE=jjgold;404693]Wow!!!
That covers it all, excellent info[/QUOTE]
Well, it really doesn't cover it all, coach, but it's a start. Caliente is an intersting facility. It started as a horse track around WWI, and was the first ever to do the photo finish, to water down the track, to have jockey safety helmets, and in the '50s to start the Pick Six (they called it the 5-10).
It was, of course, started by American entrepreneuers. They were dubbed the Border Barons by the US press
There was also, in the late '20s and early '30s, the big Caliente Casino, where before Vegas thousands of Americans - including all the big Hollywood stars of the time - congregated to bet the tables and to drink legal booze. Celebs like Baron Rothschild and Al Capone were also frequent visitors.
The facility is now strictly a book, tho they sitll run live greyhounds. The operation is also now strictly Mexican, run by a former mayor of TJ and one of the richest (and most bizarre) men in Mexico.
This was also the track where the legendary Australian thoroughbred Phar Lar ran his last race - I think you can view this monster horse doing that on YouTube.
Caliente is worth a visit for sports bettors and horse players who are visiting Baja. Obviously, one does not bet big money there, as the 1 1/2 % tax will kill you, long term. (Tho a friend tells me that on the big college and NFL sides and totals you can often see a 3 pt or more differnece than from offshore - all the bets from all over Mexico and elsewheere are combined into one pool, and the square bettors predominate - a paradise for scalpers and middlers, even with the tax.)Comment -
Agreed, TJ is not a resort town, tho Rosarito Beach and Ensenada are OK. Not world class by a long shot, but OK. And if you're there stop by Puerto Nuevo, south of Rosarito, for their world famous Baja lobster. This started out decades ago as a fishing villiage, now draws hundred of thousands people a year for the Baja style lobster
But as exstatman says, most Mexican tourist towns do have a sports book, Cozumel, etc included. And, yes, the NFL, which will not even hold a convention in Vegas, is seriously considering putting a team in Mexico, likely in Guadalajara. And Mexicans love American football, and love to bet on it.
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America is absolutely drowning in hypocrisy . . .Comment -
IF you check the Caliente website you should see a list of the location of heir Mexican books.
But they do not take web wagers, and phone wagers only from inside Mexico. The people who own the place want good relations with Americans, they buy the signals from American tracks, etc One of the brothers owns a bank in Laredo TX, which curiously enough has been cited more than once as a chief laundry for washing the profits of the Mexican-controlled drug trade.
The joys of globalism . . .Comment
