Hustling is part and parcel of everyday life in Buenos Aires. Opportunists try their hand at anything from selling socks on the street to tape measures on the subte. If you’re in need of some quick cash there are plenty of other ways to fill your pockets but nothing is certain, especially when betting. This uncertainly, together with the excitement, anticipation, joy, and despair of gambling is what drives scores of men and women to dwindle away their savings in the hope that lady luck will be smiling down upon them. To most, the bonanza will remain illusive, and to every winner there are most likely 100 losers, but living by the sword and dying by the sword is the nature of the beast. As the saying goes: a gambler never makes the same mistake twice, it’s usually three or more times.

Hippodromo (Photo: Simon Guerra)

Hit the Races

The Hipódromo is tense on race night and the air is thick with expectation. Hundreds of punters, mostly middle-aged men, examine horses at the proximity of the ring or stare intensely at television monitors displaying odds. Some are suited and booted, others wear football shirts, but they are all serious and dead-set on making some dough.

Argentines know how to look after their horses; each beast is a fine-tuned racing machine and an impressive sight to behold. Muscle-bound and primed to race they are paraded around the paddock before the jockeys mount. A huge screen displays the horses lining up at the starting gate on the other side of the course as the announcer cries out names frantically. A momentary silence falls, the red flag is dropped, and they explode from the blocks.

The Argentine betting system is not like that found in England and the odds are displayed differently, to my untrained eye it was a confusing mass of fluctuating numbers. There is a race every half hour and not much else do to in between aside from eating a hot dog or hitting the slots but the open aired nature of the track provides a welcome contrast to the confines of the city.

The slot machines, hidden in the bowels of the Hipódromo’s main building, offer a different experience altogether. The place is decked out with wide-eyed OAPs, systematically feeding tokens into flashing machines. It smells sterile and the mirrored walls deceive, reminiscent of Enter The Dragon’s final scene. Security guards keep a watchful eye over proceedings and waitresses dressed like air stewardesses deliver drinks on sliver trays. This is an alternative, 24 hour place to gamble, but I found the whole set up is mildly depressing.

Hipódromo Argetino De Palermo, Av del Libertador 4101, 11-4778-2800.

Bingo Lavalle (Photo: Simon Guerra)

Play Bingo!

It’s hard to miss the bingo on Lavalle, a huge neon sign flashing the words in fluorescent white dominates the street. Inside, the hall is shrouded in a blanket of second hand cigarette smoke and a hushed silence descends as the announcer gets ready to start yet another round. Mostly elder Argentines, each wielding a black marker pen, tick boxes as the numbers are read out at breakneck speed. A few monitors dotted around display the balls as they are spat out the machine like empty shells from a gatling gun. There’s no “24, knock at the door” or “72, Danny La Rue” but an unimaginative, monotone “veintidós” or “ochenta y seis”.

Floorwalkers do the rounds between each game dishing out new cards for $2 a go but the place is devoid of any charm or atmosphere. A minor spasm of excitement breaks the monotony when someone shouts out “Bingo!” but the momentary delight is soon drowned out by a collective groan from those who were one digit away from winning the scoop. Again, much like the slots, I found the place a bit dispiriting and it is not so much enjoyment etched on the faces of those playing but a kind of glum, feverish determination to win a bit of cash.

It is important to remember the strict etiquette that comes with playing this game and it is ill-advised to ask questions to fellow players, the rapidity of game play simply doesn’t allow time for socialising. Fast-paced, flaccid ball-watching takes president here. If it’s that kind of efficiency you are looking for, this is the place for you.

Bingo Lavalle, Lavalle 842, 11-4322-1114.

Casino Puerto Madero (Photo: Simon Guerra)

Board the Casino

The definition of a spaceship has never been so clearly defined as in Puerto Madero Casino. It genuinely is a hybrid between an old ship and a futuristic dose of architecture. It’s a good walk from the centre, so rolling up to the foyer in a taxi seems far more appropriate – this is how most people arrive, after all. Valets and security hover beneath the huge glittering sign, and lads, mainly in groups of three or four, strut through the glass doors to burn some pesos. Inside, body scanners guard the entrance to the retired ship, Princess, and after placing keys and phone in a tray and receiving a minor dose of radiation you’re allowed in. Entry is free.

The layout is confusing and escalators dissect the three floors. The walls are mirrored, like the slots at the Hipódromo, creating an illusion of space that is disorientating and oddly claustrophobic. It could be a ploy, designed to prevent gamblers from finding the exit. The first floor is dedicated to slot machines but the real action happens in the lower deck, where the live roulette, blackjack, and other tables lie. The low ceilings make for an intense atmosphere, the place is busy and croupiers deal cards and chips with rapid hand movements. Argentines sporting gold chains, Chinese businessmen, and more Argentines sporting gold chains sit or stand over the various games. People appear happy, though that might have more to do with the bar. Big money can be made here and there’s more energy about the place than in the slots of bingo.

The reason the casino here is floating is to circumvent legislation that bans certain forms of gambling within the city of Buenos Aires – by operating in the port of Buenos Aires, the boat falls under national jurisdiction. However, it must be said that at no point does it feel like being on a boat on account of the futuristic interior, which is a shame. I was expecting a little more prestige and glamour, like the casino on board the Titanic, but in dockside Buenos Aires, functional moneymaking takes priority over grandeur.

Casino Madero, Elvira Rawson de Dellepiane, 11-4363-3100.

Lottery in Buenos Aires by total13, on Flickr

Play the Lottery

Lotteries exist on both a local and national level in Argentina and there are some serious prizes to be won. Perhaps the most renowned, La Grande De La Nacional, has been going for over 118 years, after being inaugurated in 1893. It’s more of a waiting game compared to other forms of gambling, and with lower risk involved the odds of winning are considerably decreased. Hundreds of kiosks around town offer the chance to enter daily, weekly, and monthly draws with hundreds of thousands of pesos at stake. Those who play can be superstitious, picking the same numbers each time, while others use potluck or get somebody else to choose for them. “There’s no way I change my balls, what would I do if I decided to change numbers one week and my normal numbers came up, I would be distraught,” says regular player Thomas Rocco, who heads to a small kiosk just off Av Medrano every Friday to try his luck, “sometimes I’m lucky, sometimes I’m not.”

For more information on the national lottery, visit the website or ask in a local kiosko.

Peso vs Dollar in Balance (Collage by Beatrice Murch with images by Beatrice Murch, Andrew Magill, and dynna17)

Go Blue

It’s not so much about winning money, but often it feels like you’ve hit the jackpot when converting dollars into Argentine pesos using the informal ‘blue’ exchange rate. During the last few months, the underground rate has risen by almost 25% and at the time of writing it is possible to scrape $8.8 to the dollar.

It may be illegal – and you engage in this activity at your own risk – but if you have dollars in cash you can make a big mark up compared to the official rate, which at the time of writing sits at $5.15. Opportunists fill out Florida Street, each vying for the attentions of dollar-laden tourists and passers by; some whistle discreetly, others are less obvious. A safe transaction is by no means guaranteed and due to the illicitness of the process, some degree of risk is involved. Being stopped by a policeman or falling foul of a hustler bolting once the money is in his hands are not unheard of, but there is some comfort knowing that it is in the interests of those concerned to at least maintain the reputation of Florida as a safe place to do business.

Locals holding down respectable jobs are also known to be willing to exchange currency as a side business, so if running the Florida gauntlet doesn’t appeal then it is not impossible to find an office clerk who is willing to talk money in a safer location.

For a guide to the ‘blue dollar’ rate, use this website.

Every morning, a retired lady who gives her name simply as Lucia, wakes up, makes herself a cup of mate, and completes her crosswords and household chores. Then, after lunch, she makes her way to Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo (HAPSA), the city racetracks. But she’s not looking to see athletic horses. Instead she’s going underground, to the glaring, gaudy cacophony and ephemeral world of slot machines. This has been her daily routine for the past four years and, every day, hundreds of people just like her come to try their luck on one of the 5,000 slot machines that stretch out under the tracks.

Courtesy of HAPSA

Above ground everything might be exactly as you’d expect: top-class stabling, elegantly styled spectator stands, expansive exhibition halls, and modern plasma screens juxtaposing the antique charm of century-old La Paris café. You can even watch the horse racing for free if that’s what you’ve come looking for, but what you might not have imagined is what’s taking place below.

The biggest gambling hall in Latin America, HAPSA could be Argentina’s answer to Las Vegas, except that technically it’s not a casino. Since tabletop gambling is forbidden in the city of Buenos Aires, the complex opted instead to import an incredible number of US-style slot machines.

Since opening in 2002, the machines have served as a big motor that keeps the racetracks going. How much of the profit goes into maintaining the tracks is impossible to say, but these machines are certainly big business. At least 80% of the racetrack’s 2,000 employees work in the slot machine complex, and a large portion of the funding for the six years of renovations that have recently seen completion, likely came from below. The flooring of the newly renovated arts hall cost $4m alone but has since supported exhibitions by such artistic heavyweights as Francis Bacon.

Customers such as Lucia enjoy a sense of the free flowing money simply by stepping inside. A labyrinth of red-carpeted rooms comes scattered with luminous fountains, overpriced restaurants fit for every taste and even a coffee shop with live weekend shows.

“I hope other people enjoy other things in their lives,” she says. “Me, I really like this place, because I can come on my own and leave the house for a while.”

If you want your own slice of the money that rolls around here, then all you need is luck. “I know some people who touch the machines to feel their ‘vibe’ first,” she says. “Others walk around to see which ones call to them, but, personally, I don’t do anything to bring luck.”

The biggest jackpots ever awarded here were in October 2008, when $2.9m was paid out, and around the same time in 2009, when a whopping $1.5m was won. Strangely, both came from an island of Star Wars machines, all illuminated by flashing lights and luring in potential winners with a screen showing clips from the film.

Lucia remains realistic about the possibilities: “The most I ever won was $15,000,” she says. ”But I do realise that everything I win is just a temporary loan because, eventually, it will all go back in the machine anyway.”

Courtesy of HAPSA

Open 24 hours a day, the clientele are mostly pensioners during the day with evenings bringing a more varied mix of people. Interestingly, whatever the time of day, the crowd is noticeably female. Women make up 54% of HAPSA Club cardholders, a loyalty scheme specifically for the slot machines.

There are times, however, when loyalty becomes dependence and in these situations customers can turn to Juego Responsable – a support scheme that aims to help people with an addiction to gambling. Part of the commitment involves signing a ‘self-exclusion’ document whereby the person permits the staff to invite them to leave should they decide to return.

Like several others propping up Palermo’s slot machines, Lucia plays her gaming down, describing it as a way of entertainment like any other. In the end, she adds: “I know this is a drug. It’s about the adrenaline rush and the thrill of it all. That’s what people come here for – the excitement – isn’t it?”

And we thought it was all about the flashing lights.

Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo, Av. de Libertador 4101. The slot machine halls beneath the racetracks are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with free entrance to anyone aged 18 and over. Minors are permitted only when accompanied.

Photos courtesy of Hipódromo Palermo

The most eagerly anticipated event in the national racing calendar, the Gran Premio Nacional, will be held at the Hipódromo Argentino in Palermo on

10th November. The derby pulls in an eclectic crowd of all classes and ages, families and gamblers, all rubbing shoulders with the protagonists of the day – the trainers, owners, horses and jockeys.

For an event that is the Argentine equivalent of the Grand National in the UK, or the Melbourne Cup, the setting is fittingly spectacular. Inspired by French architecture of the 18th century, Faure Dujarric designed the impressive entrance and stand which were built in 1908 in the art nouveau style typical of Buenos Aires at that time, evidenced in many buildings along the Av de Mayo such as the Café Tortoni.

The race has been featuring the crème de la crème of Argentina’s thoroughbred colts since it began in 1884, and it even attracts the occasional international competitor. Last year, much to the disappointment of the home crowd, Eu Tambem, a horse hailing from neighbouring country and arch enemigo Brazil, took the crown and bagged the prize money of $500,000. This year the winnings have more than doubled to over $1m.

No trip to the races is complete without having a flutter, and even with a limited knowledge of Spanish, betting is easy. You can pick up a programme with details of each horse and their recent form (numbers 1-5 next to their name tell you which place they finished in their last few races). Or if you simply prefer to go by the horse with the funniest name, many horses have English names so that is an option too. The analogue board opposite the spectators stand lists the current odds which constantly go up and down as bets are being made. To place a bet, head to the apuestas huts and state the amount (minimum $1), the name of the horse(s), and finally the type of bet you are placing: ‘ganador’ to finish 1st, ‘segundo’ to finish 1st or 2nd, or ‘tercero’ to finish in the top three.

Photos courtesy of Hipódromo Palermo

If an afternoon betting on horses doesn’t quench your thirst for gambling, beneath the elegance of the hipódromo lies the Sala Slots – a seedy labyrinth of 2,000 slot machines. This is where the real money is. It is more popular than the horses and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Far from the seduction of a James Bond-esque casino, the sala offers thousands of machines with different names and themes, but they are all essentially the same game requiring no skill, only luck and a lot of gall – if you want to win the biggest prize, you must bet the maximum amount. No windows, no fresh air, just endless rows of slot machines, and a few ATMs in case you run out of money but have the urge to empty even more of your hard-earned cash into their money pit. All in all, a stark contrast from the glamour and charm of the racecourse above.

An unforgettable experience for aficionados and novices to the sport, a day out at the racecourse promises to be full of excitement and culture in one of the city’s most beautiful spots, and if you’re lucky you might even come out a winner. The only thing that is missing, glaringly obviously so to me, is alcohol. In a country so sensible that they ban the sale of booze on election day I suppose it is not that surprising, but sitting under the parasol on the lawn and being served a can of sprite just doesn’t hit the spot like a glass of Pimms or champagne, or even a nice cold lager. But then not many places in the world offer you such a cheap day out at the races. Entrance is free, and seeing as you are guaranteed not to spend large sums of money on overpriced alcohol, it turns out to be a cheap and extremely cheerful day out, so long as you don’t lose all your money betting on the wrong horse.

The Gran Premio Nacional is free and begins at approximately 1pm, finishing at around 10pm. The agenda will be announced two days before the event, so check the website for confirmed times.

Even if you can’t make it down to the Derby, there are 120 annual race meetings held at the Hipódromo Argentino. See the racing calendar on their webpage for details.

El Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo, Av. del Libertador 4104, www.palermo.com.ar