DOMI-NATION:

Dominoes "is the favorite past-time for everyone ... in the rich people's clubs just like poor neighborhoods, in urban centers and rural areas," wrote late former president Rafael Caldera in the prologue for Alfredo Fernandez Porras's book "The Art of the 28 Pieces."

In Venezuela it is played in pairs, like Bridge, making it a more strategic game than when played one-on-one.

Efrain Velazquez, the president of the Venezuelan Dominoes Federation, says "70 to 75 percent" of the country's 30 million people play the game.

"You will always find a dominoes set in any house and whenever there is a family get together."

Dominoes is often played in bars while drinking alcohol and in many places, like Chichiriviche, some 50 kilometers north of Caracas, it is played only by men.

Far from the tourist beaches, young men play on old wooden tables, sat on plastic chairs, tree stumps or old beer barrels while the drink itself flows, as does rum, whiskey and anise liquor.

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