Gambling in India

Last night was a mess; I vaguely remember eating five samosas, half dozen chicken wings and easily a pound of potatoes and paneer all before dinner. It was a cool Sunday evening, Uncle and Massi invited over a couple of their friends for a pleasant session of rooftop knoshing and gambling.

Although we were sitting at a table with a man worth well over 500 crores (he owns mattress factories all over India) each player shelled out only a couple thousand rupees. Before our Vegas-style dinner fiasco Arvil and I small talked with our guests on an eclectic range of topics. After revealing to our guests that we were from Framingham, the millionaire instantly expressed his affection for the Natick Collection and its surrounding stores, specifically Bed Bath and Beyond. Now every kid knows that it’s funny to pretend that you enjoy shopping at BB&B but when you come across someone who isn’t a complete uterus and still wets themselves over BB&B’s selection of shower curtains and bath towels, it’s quiet hysterical.

Afterwards, this one man began to tell his epic tale of how he once almost guessed four out of four vodka flavorings at a Greygoose distillery tour but failed to win the prize. His wife chimed in adding how difficult it was. Little did this man know that another guest of Uncles was a reigning champ who actually was victorious at a vodka taste testing, guessing correctly 16 vodkas. His wife threw in her two cents recounting the magic.

Right before the three card poker started, I remembered that all my money was tied up in the financing of eight luxury hotels, penny stocks, child support payments and my second wife’s new boob job. Fortunately Raju mama was sensitive to my situation and spotted Arvil and I a couple thousand rupees.

The style of three card poker which they played involves the dealer making up a new rule each hand. Regardless of being confused about each respective game Arvil and I decided to bet erratically. Four hours later, without any breaks, we were down a lot and had to borrow from Raju again. It was around 1 in the morning, I was ready to tap out and Didi Massi halted our pathetic attempt at winning money for more food. I blindly ate a plate full of random Indian food, threw down some ice cream and hit the pillow.