Betting zoo

摘要

In 1888 Joao Batista, Baron of Drum-mond, opened a zoo in Rio de Janeiro. To pull in business he printed animals on the tickets and ran up a flag displaying one at the end of each day. A ticket printed with the right beast paid out 20 times its price. Soon, locals started to place side bets without bothering to visit. By the mid-1890s, says Amy Chazkel, a historian, the jogo do bicho (animal game) "had escaped from the zoo".