The 1930s were a tumultuous time in the Tampa underworld. Dubbed the “Era of Blood” by local journalists, the sound of shotgun blasts was a common occurrence as competing gangs vied for control of lucrative rackets.

Chief among the Tampa rackets was bolita, a gambling game like the lottery in which balls (usually made of wood or ivory) numbered 1–100 were placed in a cloth sack. The bag was tossed into the crowd, and the winning ball was picked.

The simple game of bolita generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for gambling operators in neighborhoods throughout Tampa, especially in West Tampa and Ybor City, a bustling, close-knit neighborhood where many Cuban, Spanish and Italian immigrants lived.

One of the Tampa groups fighting for domination was led by Charlie Wall, the “Dean of the Underworld.” Wall controlled narcotics, political corruption & some of the biggest bolita houses, including the famed El Dorado. Read more in this blog by @Scottyyz: https://themobmuseum.org/blog/good-man-bad-business/