46th Episode. It was the year when STAR CRUISE docked in Mumbai. It was a novelty. Dainik Bhaskar Group decided to have its corporate award night on the Mumbai- Goa-Mumbai (2D1N) trip in the high seas. The excitement ran high within the team. Team members from Kolkata Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai joined the Mumbai team. Going into high sea and on a 10-deck high cruise ship was first for most of us. Even for Mumbai team, ferry ride from Gateway to Alibagh was the best they had done.
The D-day finally arrived. Team members walked up the gang and picked their own bunks. It was immaterial that they were four to a coupe. No one was going to sleep. There were clear plans. In no time, team went through the ship. The hot topless entertainment shows, the specialty joints, the massage center, the multiple bars, the swimming pool and casino deck, all identified. A rough schedule defined for the next 36 hours. Casino time was going to be a major part of it.
The corporate award function was wrapped up on time. No one wanted to be late for the top-less dance show. The predominately male team had already bought tickets. Few female team members too joined in. Post drinks, dinner and the show, everyone landed in casino. The gambling instinct was high but people were cautious. The minimum bet was a dollar, which was around 48-50 Rupee. Anyway, that is not the story.
We all kept playing. Girish Agarwal, Marketing Director the team person that he is, kept company. Most of the team including me was loosing but that was not going to hold us. I not in a mood to lose more went to the top deck. Few team members joined in. It was only 3:30 AM, still time for sun to rise. Bored to death, high on drinks and nicotine I made my way back to the Casino, for that one last spin of the wheel.
The mood there was hardly upbeat, Very few winners. Most Bhaskarite having lost money were off table and the few brave were still at it. . Girish Agarwal was retiring from the roulette. He had not lost much. However, lately the spin of wheel had stopped favoring him. One who hates losing, he decided to handover his chips to other Bhaskarites when I stopped him.
I said ‘Girish, I have a feeling that the next half-an-hour belongs to you. Come play. At max you will lose and if you want to stop them, we will’. Girish looked at me and thinking another half-an-hour was no big shit, he joined the spin. I stood next to him. He was playing random numbers. There was no strategy. Sometime and on roulette, table that is the best strategy. The wheel started pouring out his numbers. It was a very apparent shift of fortunes. He was having a real hot run at the wheel. Whatever he would play, he would win.
He would have continued playing had I not stopped him. By the watch in 30 minutes, I asked him to get up and catch a bit of sleep. His time was over. To mail the point home, the last spin did not favour him.
He had enough chips to overflow all pockets. With no place to keep and not wanting to make the detour to cash them in, he very generously shared his spoil with team members. He kept on dropping chips, the dark blacks and the golden-rimmed ones to the junior team members. It was fun. It was his way of encouraging them to have a free run and enjoy the time.
I was still numb with the experience. I was not sure what made me make the ‘half-an-hour’ statement to Girish. Did he win with his luck or it was because I said so. This was not the first time when improbable things said by me had come true. I left the spinning wheel and walked to the top deck to catch the most glorious sunrise I have ever seen.
………………………..OTHER GAMBLING STORIES ………………
● KOTI ANGLES: Gambling in Goa ● Juhi Effect– there is something called lady luck in gambling
……….. OTHER ADVERTISING MARKETING EPISODES …
● KOTI ANGLES: Gambling in Goa ● MISSING LIPS : How friendship develops to create different expectations ● The Trap: How the AE searching for adventure got duped ● Equal Opportunity to Indulge: How HR finds itself in a spot in Pattaya ● The Lost Haunting Music– An experience ● UNNAMED SPIRIT- a spooky experience at Mcleodganj ● Punjabi Lintas – Amrit Puri takes over Lintas ● Delayed launch – Why HT Delhi Colour supplement launch was delayed ● UNDERGROUND – Printing fake currency could have led to jail ● Strategic rain Break – How ZID KARO DHONI film was shot ● Thank You ● Rain Clause – I – The fight with Whitelight film over Maruti film ● Lethal Combination ● APPETITE – It does not matter where you get the appetite till you eat at home ● Puncture – how not to get caught ● Adultery- the moment – Its all for you to decide how far you would go ● ASSET – how a famous Indian model was rejected ● I am Sankar – soft ragging of new trainee ● The Count ● Introduction ● Time Bomb – How to avoid embarrassing situation ● Small Tile – eye for detail ● Shoot Report ● Sardar Khush Hoga ● Shoot At Mud Island ●Kaali Peeli Picture – what do you do you’re your model is featured in Debonair ● Upgrade ● Juhi Effect– there is something called lady luck in gambling ● Power Of Punjab ● Out – let game be game ● Two More – how not to pay for the drinks ● Eleven Minutes ● The Cherry Win ● The Presentation ● Black Gold ● Buffered ● Continue With Client ● Not Fired ● One Less Decision ● High jacking the Goafest delegates ● The Ghost Of 35 Rani Jhansi Road Jhandewalaon ● The Problem ● Imported Art Card ● Banyan Tree Agency
