Best of luck, Ram, Shyam. and Rita

There is this Bruce Lee film where he comes across a restaurant in some town in Japanese occupied China that reads, ' Chinese and dogs not allowed'. Bruce Lee was after all Bruce Lee, so what does he do? At first his faces contorts in fury as he looks at the sign and then with a blood-curdling yell he jumps high into the air and smashes the signboard with a terrific kick.

That is exactly how I would like to destroy any signboards put up in Nepal that reads 'Nepalese are not allowed'. So maybe I shouldn't go near any casinos then, right? Because a daily has recently reported that all casinos in Nepal have been requested to keep such a sign outside their establishments. If that's not all, all casinos have been instructed to keep records of visitors' names, addresses, nationality and passport numbers. Now this is something that's just not done in this day and age. Visiting a casino, and a licensed one at that, is no crime, so what is the logic behind such record keeping?

If this is to make doubly sure that Nepalese citizens do not enter the hallowed portals of casinos, then one can only pity the ones who make such rules, their inane brains. Of course before we do that one has to ask why? Why cannot Nepalese visit casinos? I remember once telling an Indian friend, " Your country is losing much by prohibitions on drinking. Imagine the effect on your economy if liquor laws in India with its 100 million population, were to be as liberal as ours?" To his routine apprehension about the problems of excessive drinking to family and society and blah, blah, blah, I had a one-line answer, " How many drunks have you seen in Nepal?" He had no answer to that and he was well acquainted with the fact that liquor was available in every second shop in the country.

So my question remains. Why cannot Nepalese go play their luck in casinos? It is a truth of life that water finds its own level. In gambling you need money, and for serious gambling you need serious money. Most of us don't have that so even if one were to try out one's luck once in a while, the stakes would be severely limited to what one can afford. Which of course, to repeat, isn't much. So, water will find its own level. Of course those that can afford to play big, they will anyway, signboard or no signboard. For others it’s a few hours of fun, no more. So why should Nepalese be deprived of their right to have fun sometimes. Especially in such places that give so much excitement.

Having got that out of my system, and knowing well that my reasoning might have its holes, and the authorities' some logic, let us see what casinos are all about. Before going into that however, a sincere request to those concerned not to put such offensive aforementioned signs anywhere in this country. There might be a Bruce Lee in some of us.

There are seven casinos in the country. Kathmandu has six: Casino Nepal in Soaltee Crown Plaza, Casino Anna in Hotel Annapurna, Casino Royale in Yak and Yeti, Casino Everest in Everest Hotel, Casino RAD in Radisson Hotel and Casino Tara in Hyatt Regency. The seventh is in Fulbari Resort in Pokhara. All casinos are lavishly designed and furnished in such a way as to encourage guests to feel as much at home as is possible. Lots of young and personable staff (guest relation officers) hover around as inconspicuously as practicable trying to be helpful without intruding. It’s a fine art let me tell you and I guess they are so trained. Of course its tough to stop ogling at all those pretty hostesses in short skirts.

Although casinos are open twenty-four hours of the day, much of the action starts after midnight. Everybody waits for the bewitching hour, methinks. Rows of brightly-lit slot machines are the first things that attract one's attention. Further infield are the green felt topped gaming tables with smart and snappily dressed people (croupiers), manning their particular little empires (pits). The slot machines are as simple to play as marbles. First you park your you know what on the stool in front of the inviting gizmo. Then all you do is drop either one or three coins into the machine and jerk, sorry, pull, the handle. As the reels begin to spin you watch, either with narrowed eyes if you're praying, or with wide open eyes if your mind's blank. Payoffs range from Rs.10 if you have some luck and Rs. 10000 if you're hot for the night. It all depends on the combinations.

Now if you're ready for some real gambling off you go to the 'Roulette' table. All casinos here use American Roulette version and there are 36 numbered pockets and one marked single zero. You'll have to be careful that you've understood rules regarding placing of bets because it's quite complicated. For instance your bet on 0 or any single number gets 35 to 1 if you win and if you've bet on two numbers or split then a win gets you 17 to 1.  Bets on three numbers across, eg. 13, 14, 15 or 16, 17, 18 pays 11 to 1 and bets on four joining numbers like 22, 23, 25, 26 pays 8 to 1.

Besides these there are other combinations as well, so keep your rulebook at hand. No better still, memorize this. Bets on six numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 10, 11…15 pays you 5 to 1. Bets on columns of 12 numbers like 1, 4, 7 …28, 31, 34 pays off only 2 to 1 and same is the payoff for bets on sections of 12 numbers like 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36. And don't be confused with inside betting and outside betting. All the above are inside bets. Outside bets are placed on the outside edges of the table and can have odd numbered, even numbered or black, red etc. combinations. 'Odd' covers all the 18 odd numbers and 'even' does likewise. Good odds right? Right, but you get only 1 to 1 if you win.

Anyway, now that the bets are placed, the smart chap with the bow tie (croupier) spins the wheel anticlockwise and the ball, clockwise. You watch mesmerized and feel like you're in a James Bond movie, especially if there are some blondes around (unlikely, most of the time), the wheel slows down and the ball with a few hiccups comes to a halt. The croupier places a marker on the winning number and rakes in the rest of the chips. If you won you cash the chips right there at the table. Exciting game what?

No less adrenaline pumping is 'Baccarat' a card game in which six or eight decks of cards are shuffled and placed in the shoe deck. You can either bet on banker, player or tie. Two cards each are dealt to player and banker. All cards are worth their face value except picture cards and ten that are counted as zero. Last digit of total is counted, eg. 7+6=13 is counted as 3. If player or banker gets 8 or 9 it’s a natural, and bets are settled immediately. If not then you can either stand or draw another card, the higher of the two hands wins. If there's a tie, that is, same value cards for both player and banker, then it’s a tie and you win if you have betted on tie, otherwise the bets may be withdrawn. You get even money if you, the player wins and same odds if your winning bet is on the banker. If the banker wins with 6 and you have betted on the banker, you get only half the original bet plus your stake. Tie bets pay 8 to 1 but odds are dead against you.

According to those in the know, Blackjack is the most popular table game in casinos. Cards 2 to 9 are worth face value, 10, jack, queen and king are worth 10. Ace can be valued either as 1 or 11. Casino rules dictate that the dealer stands on 17 or more but draws to all hands of 16 or less. One card is first dealt to each player including the dealer followed by another round. A Blackjack is an ace and a 10 that equals 21, the highest total for a win. You can draw as many cards as you wish but if your total goes over 21 you go bust. You can also choose to stand on your original hand.  You can double the bet on any two cards in which case you get only one more card. If your hand has a pair, you can split the two, by placing another bet equal to the first hand on the split card. In case of a draw, neither dealer or player wins and this is called a push.

Other card games like flush, paplu and marriage really need not be explained, as surely, they're played very commonly everywhere and not only in casinos. Most of the games in casinos have from $ 1 to $ 500 betting limits and all are fast paced games. There's extra entertainment, (as if that's needed!), in the form of dance and music shows and plenty of complimentary refreshments for gamblers. Well, yes, those entering casinos have to be called gamblers, what else? Only keep in mind that there's a big difference between a gambler and a great gambler. The latter mostly exists in the minds of movie moghuls; the former is the ordinary Ram, Shyam and Rita who are out to have a good time while at the same time testing their luck.

However, it must be mentioned that some pretty heavy gambling takes place quite frequently in the casinos and there are instances of some gamblers continuing at a stretch for 72 hours or more at the same table. In which case the poor croupier has a hard time trying not to look bored stiff. It should also be noted that out of town gamblers come well prepared with hefty bankrolls (Rs.5 to 7 lakhs at least in case of quite a few Indian guests according to inside information). Locals are well advised not to get carried away by the excitement for it must be remembered that the odds are always, but always, in favor of casinos. Throwing a few bucks into the ring to try out one's luck is fun if it's limited to just a few bucks. More, and you are headed for a disaster. In point of fact it must be because of this that so many gamblers one sees playing in casinos don't look like they're having fun at all. Much too tensed up and desperate looking to describe them as having fun.

Anyway, coming back to whatever has been mentioned before about Nepalese not being allowed in casinos must be taken with a big pinch of salt because, again according to inside information, " No casino can survive without local gamblers." A visit to any casino anytime of day or night will prove this and leave no doubt in anybody's mind that yes, Ram, Shyam and Rita are most welcome to play no matter what the law dictates. And a lot of regulars do.

Well then, shall we say, 'Best of luck, Ram, Shyam and Rita?' Only, keep your pants on, what?