The Curious Incident of the Gambler's Wife Who Drank Tea

I think the first time I went to a traditional brick-and-mortar casino was a decade or so back. In truth, I don't know why I didn't go before because if you are looking for a cheap meal, fancy settings, exceptional customer service, and a chance to win or lose a shirt - you're in the right place. 

To be fair, I am a little bit careful when it comes to fixed-odds betting because long term you are guaranteed to lose. But short term you can beat the house so you just need a plan and stick to it. 

I've played online casinos before and you can get some decent offers such as free spins or double your bets. When in West Palm Beach, Florida, I may even have a dabble with these online casinos for USA bettors. 

Anyway, unlike most people imagine, going to the casino doesn't have to come with a public health warning. You can have a great evening out and it doesn't have to cost you much cash at all with match bets, free alcoholic drinks, and online offers for cut-price meals. I use all these things to put the odds in my favour. I know it sounds slightly strange to equate a cheap steak meal to putting the odds in your favour but it's truth. 

I've been to three Grosvenor casinos: Great Yarmouth, Luton, and Nottingham. 

I won money in two out of three (I think Robin Hood stole my cash on the Trent).

You may be looking at the post title and thinking what has some old dear drinking a cup of tea got to do with gambling at the casino. 

Well, it has, and I'm going to tell you why. Because two of the biggest gamblers I have ever seen had their wives by their side drinking tea at the roulette table. 

The first was a bloke at Great Yarmouth called Graham (I'm not sure what his wife was called). I'd seen him at this casino a few times and compared to the locals he stood out from the crowd with a number of £1000 chips. 

I'd never seen anyone there before with a chip bigger than £100. 

I kind of liked Graham's style because he went for it covering the table with stacks of £5 chips and a few single £25 scattered here and there. He targetted single numbers and with most of the table covered he seemed to be winning most spins. However, when he missed the mark, an avalanche of chips went down the chute. He then hit on a winning turn and won a few grand as his wife sipped her tea only to say: ''I was six grand down earlier.''  

The curious incident of the gambler's wife who drank tea didn't stop there. 

On a night out at Luton, with family and friends, I spotted an elegant Indian gentleman playing roulette and his wife sat by his side drinking tea. I'm not sure if she was enjoying earl grey or a tumbler of Socrates hemlock but it certainly didn't bring her husband any luck. 

While I played with my 50p chips, he was laying down the fifties like it was going out of fashion. He seemed emotionless at the loss of thousands. In fact, a few people watching noted he had lost £15,000 in about an hour. 

He kept pulling fifty-pound notes out of his pocket wad after wad. In fact, I never saw him take anything out of his pocket less than £50. I'm sure if the UK currency had a £1000 note he would have had those too. 

Anyway, I decided to call it a day and cash in my £75. Considering I started with £20 I was pretty pleased. 

I went to the cashier's desk and who was there before me - the Indian man. He'd clearly run out cash and using his credit card for round two. I could hardly believe my eyes as the whole counter was covered with £500-pound chips and another colour of which domination I wasn't sure. If they were a grand a piece he would be cranking things up even more because from a quick look he had at least £20,000 at hand. 

All I would say is this if you are sitting at the table with a lady who is drinking tea, get ready for a man to turn up with a bulge in both pockets. 

No wonder she had a smile on her face. 

Author: Jason Coote