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George & Grace's Escapado

My grandpop & I went on a secret escapade to the widely acclaimed Marina Bay Sands Casino 2 days ago. It is very much a secret because it is only known by my aunt and my grandpa is dead bent on not breathing a single word to the rest, especially my mom! Oh wellz, I just play along. He told my grandma that we were both going for a concert! A white lie for her Christmas gift :)

Being a noob, my grandpop took on the roles of a chaperone and guide. After lunch, we toured the place and my learning journey begun. First up, we headed for the jackpot machines and we tried our hands @ those which require only 2cents bid. Yes...I never knew there were different kinds depending on the bid. In his words, it is truly brainless. Just keep tapping the "spin" button and pray hard that we will strike big money. But being a realist, I knew that would be a tall order! In 15 mins, the machine swallowed $40 and we did not win a single cent. Not surprising.

Finally, we headed for my grandpop's favourite station - Roulette. He gave me a brief lecture on how the game is played during lunch and we stayed at it for the rest of our time there. It was very interesting to watch how the regulars play and what a contrast we were to them. Our bids were seriously 'small fry' compared to theirs. Needless to say, the probability of our wins was also a fraction of theirs.

I dabbled in the game too and considering I only started with $150, I got for myself a humble profit of $50! My grandpop got a tidy sum of $500++ but net amount is only about $300+. We were about to go for broke when suddenly the winds of fortune changed for us. But it was almost time for home!

Unless one can exercise some form of self-control, it is really easy to fall into the trap of addiction. Everyone knows what the odds of winning are; the house always wins, yet many are still willing to take the gamble. As such, they have no qualms of dishing out their moolah in the hundreds. There was this guy who gave the banker 10-$1000 notes to be changed for chips! $10,000!!!!! Almost my entire bonus! And he looked sooo cool about it. It was sooooo scary!

I have tasted for myself the highs and lows of what gambling can possibly bring. The frustrations when not a single win is in sight and the adrenaline rush when I finally won. But I will never want to be in the situation where I find myself numb in giving away my money. In the words of my grandpop, know when to stop. I think that is the key.

In any case, my outing with grandpop was a cool one. I don't think I saw another grandfather-granddaughter combination anywhere in the casino. That makes us the winner!!

Alright, BLESSED CHRISTMAS WORLD!

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