Cuban and Italians numbers war 90s

I was listening to this podcast called the new york city crime report with pat dixon. its a really funny show.anyway they have this regular guest who is a retired nypd detective of 20 years. And he mentioned jose battle and also the fighting between cubans and italians over the numbers racket in certain parts of ny. He said that battle had put a bounty out on mob connected numbers buildings to be firebombed and to kill anybody inside. He said that a few of these happened and that a few people got killed.

Also said that the gambinos had a gay associate in manhattan who operated numbers spots for them.

Did people really still play the numbers games in the 90s? When during the 90s was this the early 90s, mid 90s, or late 90s?

I can see sports betting; but why did people still play numbers games in the 1990s? Or was it a very small pool of players with a supposed large sum of cash to be won?

I do not gamble and have only a few times with legal lotteries and at a casino but never for lots of money and only a very low winning, and instead of gambling at casinos I prefer to watch other people gamble, or just go to a show/concert at a casino with friends.

So I do not understand the appeal of it?

I don't recall any problems between the LCN and Battle's organization - "The Corporation." As far as I know, the tension was between the LCN (specifically the Lucchese family) and an offshoot of Battle's group called "The Company." But I don't remember reading about any firebombing. I think I do recall reading about Casso having one of their guys shot dead while he was in line at a movie theater.

I remember reading about it. It was the late 1980s between the Luccheses and Cubans and some bodegas selling numbers for the Luccheses were firebombed. A top Cuban gang leader was shot in the head while waiting in line at a theater and that ended it.