I should inform most of you now that quite a few of my posts will be related to Bombay, India my hometown. Having moved to Chicago just one Month Ago I haven't quite had a myriad of experiences like I did in Bombay, but I know I will eventually and at that point I will talk more about Chicago.
This next story dates back to Mid May of 2008, a time most famous for the Inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL). A league dedicated to the sport of Cricket and its best players. There were Eight Teams that came from 8 different states in India. The hype was enormous an entire country of One Billion Got together to stand by their teams. A friend and I however although amazed by the oppening ceremonies and the bidding for the players etc wanted more from the IPL. After very little consideration we decided that we wanted to Bet on the fixtures to make it all the more exciting. The first fixture was between the Mumbai Indians and the Banglore Royal Challangers. We bet with the team supported the Mumbia Indians and well as the game ended we doubled our first investment. As the week went by we won more money of other games we bet on. We were on top of the world but I was noticing something about myself, I was changing I used to be an avid sports fan but I clearly was changing into an agressive well Asshole who was yelling at the T.V everytime something went wrong for the team I bet on. I was letting it get to my head, it only got worse when I started betting against the team I supported. I was no longer a sports fan I was merely doing it for the money.
It was June 2nd or 3rd and we had not gone wrong with any of our bets at that point. The IPL was reaching the end I remember the Semi Final Game as we had put down around $300 each that was the money we made. The Semi Final saw the Chennai Superkings who were on paper the strongest team and even in terms of rank against the Punjab Kings 11. Inevitabely we bet on the Superkings and won which pushed our profits to $370. The Final set the stage for the Chennai Superkings and the Rajisthan Royals the weakest team on paper, we were really confident for the Superkings and therefore put in more money the total came up to about $500. The problem was we didn't actually have the $130 that we added but we were so confident that we thought we wouldn't need it. The night went on and instead enjoying the match I began I began cussing each and every player on the Superkings. It was dreadful to say the least, and obviously we ended up losing everything plus more. The bookie ended up coming over to collect the cash and we explained it to him. He threatened to kick our asses but knowing that we were both young he let us go. I will say that I hadn't ever been that scared in my life.
I have made a promise to myself to stop gambling in that form, and especially to never bet money I don't have. If I were in my mid twenties I would have gotten my ass beat by ruthless thugs.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
that's a great story. nice descriptions about the experience. i like your post's about your home, it gives an educating insight into another culture i normally would not have a firsthand look at. keep them coming...
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story. I think it is an experience that many people can relate to, maybe not relating to your gambling problem, but losing faith in something that you believed in for a stupid reason. It seems like you did not really learn your lesson because you said that you are going to stop gambling in that form, but not stop gambling. At least you're being honest.
ReplyDelete