Costa Rica Gambling

COSTA RICA GAMBLING, CASINOS, BETTING

Costa Rica has dozens of online companies that provide this tropical Central American country with leading offshore bookies. Bodog.com and BetUS.com are two of the biggest.

Whether it is an online sports betting operation or a brick and mortar, employees in Costa Rica are generally young, between 18 and 30, and earn from $600 to $1,600 a month. That compares with an average of $325 a month for the average Costa Rican worker. With the low and very laxed taxes and little Costa Rica government involvement, small casinos are now peppered throughout the country and in very remote areas. It is not surprising that you will find some tucked away and operating under thatch roofs or in some back-room with only a few machines. Just about any Costa Rica taxi driver will know where these are. But be warned: Enter at your own risk and do not expect the same odds that Las Vegas has. Each casino sets its own rules.

For example: The most popular Casino game in Costa Rica is 21 also called “Rummy”, which is similar to blackjack but with Costa Rica rules. You get two cards, you can then ask for another card or stay with the two you have if you have 21 or close to 21. As in blackjack, the idea is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over, with face cards counting as 10 and aces counting as one or 11. All the rules just mentioned are just like blackjack. Here is where the game differs from the Las Vegas version: if your first three cards are the same, three of a kind, or a straight (6, 7, & 8 of the same suit), you have a ‘rummy’ and you are paid double. And if your three of a kind happens to be three sevens (which is 21), you get an even higher bonus. If you get 21 with two cards or get five cards without breaking 21, there’s no double bonus as you get in many other international casinos. Splitting pairs is allowed as is doubling down. In some, You may find yourself losing with a push with the dealer.

Most of the bigger facilities in Costa Rica will have the typical Vegas-style gambling machines, along with, Canasta (Roulette), Caribbean Stud Poker, Craps, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Rommy Blackjack ,and Tute poker.