Informal gambling between low tier non gangster class people outside a joint is common amongst the lower class most everywhere and the whole scenario was about

Informal gambling between low tier non gangster class people outside a joint is common amongst the lower class most everywhere and the whole scenario was about minimizing liquid wealth and dealing with cash intensive problems in places where cash is risky. In the Philippines they even have a pooling system 'paluwagan' like this to make it possible for people to buy big things without a bank account or having to store large sums for large period of time which can be risky there.