Chapter 17 from The Spotted Ball, a True Story by Larry Cohen c 2025
“2319 NW 2nd Street, Miami, Florida 33125”
To most of us, the address of 2319 NW 2nd Street, Miami, Florida 33125 has little, if any, meaning. However, if one is a member of the Cuban-American community in or around what is commonly known as Little Havana in Miami, Florida, it has a lot of meaning. It was the address of Elián González, the Cuban boy who was rescued at sea trying to escape Cuba along with his mother in the year 2000. Sadly, his mother drowned at sea, and only eight-year-old Elián survived, which many saw as miraculous.
My readers could rightfully ask what this historical event, over 25 years ago, has to do with my narrative, my true story. Now I ask my dear readers to focus on the house number, “2319”. It was only a few years earlier that the State of Florida introduced its own “numbers rackets” in the form of not only a Pick Three but also a Pick Four. On a $1 bet, if one had all of the numbers in the correct order, the player would win $5000.
While some of the country in the year 2000 were paying little attention to the Elián González case, those in Miami were paying very close attention. The house number, “2319,” took on a magical, almost mystical, and religious meaning. So, when, in the same year, around that same time that the González case raged, the Florida State Lottery pick was, yes, 2-3-1-9. There were 192 winners that day, far above the usual number. 192 winners had won $5000 each. Since the year 2000, that same number has been picked several times, and each time, the number of winners is far above the average daily payout.
The point of all this is that there is an undeniable urge to gamble, but how we regulate it and control it is what is disconcerting. There is a bit of irony that I would like to add at this point. Shortly after young Elián was removed by force with over 100 U.S. government agents from his home in Miami and sent back to Cuba, I was in Miami visiting some Cuban-American friends of my own on business. I requested to be shown the González home on NW 2nd Street in Miami. It turns out it’s not far from Miami International Airport, only a few blocks from Rey Pizza (Pizza King), a well-known pizza shop in the area.
I took extensive video of the once chaotic scene, including a close-up of the house number, 2319, which is readily viewable on my own YouTube channel. (Some of the yellow police barrier tape was still visible, not having been removed yet.) But never did I think to gamble on those four numbers. To me, it was a bad bet. Yet to others, it was more than a bet…it was to bet on a miracle.
to be continued….