numbers racket
Street betting game
A numbers racket is an illegal lottery, historically common in American cities, where bettors wager small amounts on a three-digit number.
The winning number was typically derived from publicly verifiable sources like stock prices or racetrack totals to prove fairness.
The police busted a numbers racket operating out of the barbershop.
Also called the numbers game or policy.
Stake on uncertainty
- oddsLikelihood expressed numerically
- payoutMoney distributed to recipient
- stakeSharpened post or share
- betRisked stake on outcome
slip · combination · pick · straight · boxed · payoff · winner · loser
Manhattan neighborhood, cultural landmark
- ProhibitionConstitutional alcohol ban era
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
- bootleggingIllegal alcohol production/sale
- ghettoSegregated urban quarter
wager
Stake on uncertainty
- oddsLikelihood expressed numerically
- payoutMoney distributed to recipient
- stakeSharpened post or share
bet · slip · combination · pick · straight · boxed · payoff · winner · loser · action
Harlem
Manhattan neighborhood, cultural landmark
- ProhibitionConstitutional alcohol ban era
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
- bootleggingIllegal alcohol production/sale
ghetto · tenement · poverty · 1920s · 1930s · raid · corruption
- crimerobbery, accomplice, alibi, burglary, conspiracy
- criminal slangprison slang, criminal code, drug slang, prison code, cant
- organized crimemafia, mob, the mob, syndicate, crime syndicate
- racketeeringracketeering, protection racket, loan sharking, extortion, shakedown
- vicevice, debauchery, prostitution, depravity, immorality
- vice lawssodomy laws, obscenity laws, blue laws, adultery laws, indecency laws
numbers racketstate lottery
Government-operated prize drawing
Powerball · Mega Millions · scratch-off tickets · lottery commission · raffle
number, numbers, numbered, numbering, numberless, innumerable, numeral, numerals, numerate