I have bet for several years at Caliente, and have had no problems. The drawbacks include a 1.5% tax on your winnings, and not being able to tease totals. Sometimes you can get real point spread bargains if you are betting the opposite of the SoCAl teams. I would be a little nervous about laying really big money there.
steak tartar said:
Can you elaborate a little bit? There's a possibility I may be moving back to San Diego, but I never even went to Tijuana the first time I lived there. I'm unfamiliar with both the city and the sportsbook.
lostucanes said:
How do they handle the tax? Deduct it directly from any winning payouts?
I can answer both questions. They deduct the tax from your winnings, and have the can driver take you to the Pueblo Amigo book and you will eliminate the chance of getting clipped. The problem you may encounter is geting clipped by the police late at night. Especially late at night where the taxis drop you off to go to the border. Put most of your money in your shoes if attempting to cross late at night. During the day you will have no problemos with the polcia at the border.
Caliente is actually one of the biggest books in the world. All over Mexico, in S. America, even a few in Europe. The old racetrack is where Phar Lap ran his last, great race. They still have dog racing there.
Owned by one of Mexico's wealthiest families. The family member who directly owns Caliente is now mayor of Tijuana, with an eye on bigger things. Also reputed to have been involved with murder and with major drug trafficking rings.
It's primarily squares who play there. There is a 1.5% tax on the winning part of a sports bet, and a 2 % tax on the entire payback of a horse bet. This money goes to a federal govt agency in Mexico City, equivalent to our Dept of the Interior. These guys basically are just grafters, and the tax is a swindle.
However, as one poster noted, because it is a square place you can sometimes get terrific odds on the underdogs or the Over on high-profile games. Bettors from all over Mexico combine their pesos to make this a contrarian heaven.
They also have the popular-with-square-bettors parlay and teaser cards, but with no competition (political connections have kept competitors our of Baja) the odd on these cards (all 1/2 pointers) are much worse than Vegas.
Forget the stuff about being "clipped", which I presume means being robbed. Much more likely in downtown San Diego or LA than in downtown TJ. But unless you are with a large group stay away from Zona Norte, aka Coahuilla. Lots of predators there, in the red light distict. You can and will, if alone, get mugged in broad daylight. However, there are whore bars all over TJ.
For fun betting, and drinking reasonably priced Mexican beer (it ain't Vegas, no freebies there!) Caliente has a few great books, with the individual table motif rather than bleacher style. The Jai Alai book as one poster noted, is good. Ditto Pueblo Amigo. If you dont want to go into downtown there is a Caliente book a few yards inside the border crossing.
Or go down to the beach town of Rosarito for a book there, and try the fish taco at the place across the mall. Another nice one in Ensenada.
Not for seriious betting, but for having fun in Mexico..
Owned by one of Mexico's wealthiest families. The family member who directly owns Caliente is now mayor of Tijuana, with an eye on bigger things. Also reputed to have been involved with murder and with major drug trafficking rings.
It's primarily squares who play there. There is a 1.5% tax on the winning part of a sports bet, and a 2 % tax on the entire payback of a horse bet. This money goes to a federal govt agency in Mexico City, equivalent to our Dept of the Interior. These guys basically are just grafters, and the tax is a swindle.
However, as one poster noted, because it is a square place you can sometimes get terrific odds on the underdogs or the Over on high-profile games. Bettors from all over Mexico combine their pesos to make this a contrarian heaven.
They also have the popular-with-square-bettors parlay and teaser cards, but with no competition (political connections have kept competitors our of Baja) the odd on these cards (all 1/2 pointers) are much worse than Vegas.
Forget the stuff about being "clipped", which I presume means being robbed. Much more likely in downtown San Diego or LA than in downtown TJ. But unless you are with a large group stay away from Zona Norte, aka Coahuilla. Lots of predators there, in the red light distict. You can and will, if alone, get mugged in broad daylight. However, there are whore bars all over TJ.
For fun betting, and drinking reasonably priced Mexican beer (it ain't Vegas, no freebies there!) Caliente has a few great books, with the individual table motif rather than bleacher style. The Jai Alai book as one poster noted, is good. Ditto Pueblo Amigo. If you dont want to go into downtown there is a Caliente book a few yards inside the border crossing.
Or go down to the beach town of Rosarito for a book there, and try the fish taco at the place across the mall. Another nice one in Ensenada.
Not for seriious betting, but for having fun in Mexico..
whormoan said:
Absolutamente! Also sometimes on Dallas - Mexican football fans just love those Vaqueros.
It seems that in mexico any high profile game, NFL or college, will bring better odds on the dog and under than at most offshore books. Of course that's normal with square bettors worldwide, but more so with Mexicans. I haven't been to Caliente for quite a while, but I have seen the big drug dealers push 50k to 100k across the window, on either a horse race or NFL game, without knowing shit from shinola about either. Chump change for them. (Got one funny story about a clerk who shorted a big dealer $2000 on a payoff; management was told by trafficker to get him out of town by sunset - man, he was gone!!)
YourAllAmerican said:
TJ downtown on the weekends will have more gringos walking around than Mexicans.
Virtually everyone who works downtown TJ, and in much of the rest of the city, speaks some English. And the dollar is universally accepted, including at all the books.
On a Saturday you can walk over (on the western side of I-5) then cross the highway with the cars waiting to cross the border, and in less than ten minutes you are at Pueblo Amigo, with a number of books to choose from. Just follow the crowds.
Tijuana has become - not only the narcotics capitol of No America - but pharmaceutical capitol. Tens of thousands of Americans descend on the city to buy cheap, US made pharmaceuticals, from penicillen to steroids to Viagra - which is openly advertised on drugstore windows. Many, many drugstores in TJ, most catering to Sr & Sra Gringo.
YourAllAmerican said:
In TJ, and in most of Northern Baja, the dollar is king. Even bar whores will quote you their prices in dollars. You may be able to do slightly better in buying serives or products in you change your money (doing so in San Ysidro, on the US side will get you a better rate) but the savings are so small the hassle for anything but large purchases is not worth it.
BTW, the "Cuban" cigars sold in downtown TJ, in the liquor store, are all fakes, made in Mexico. You can buy genuine Havanas, however, in Rosarito Beach, another gringo-infested town. There is a store there on the main drag operated by a young couple from Los Angeles that has the real thing. Don't think, tho, that you can buy a panetela or cohiba from Cuba for a dollar or two. $6 and up, up, up, up. But worth it . . .
