I’m not a gambler and don’t even bet on the lottery, but this was a sure thing. Even though the stakes were high at 50 Euro (about $75) a pop, I would only bet upon absolute certainty. I couldn’t lose.
Seeing exactly under which box the ball landed, I placed my bet by handing the man a €50 bill. I bent down, lifted the box, and presto,.. NO BALL! I stood dumbstruck. A woman leaned over and whispered that the “trick” is to put the toe of a shoe on the box when placing the bet, so the man can’t shift the ball while the better is handing him the money. Then she played the next hand, put her shoe on the box, and won €50.
A-ha! Now I got it! The jig was up! Again, I trained my eagle eye on the ball and watched the boxes. Knowing with precise and absolute certainty under which box the ball landed, I promptly placed the toe of my shoe on that box. I handed the man two €50 bills this time, because there was money to win back and then some. Bending down I lifted the box, and presto,… NO BALL!!!!!!
After losing €150 (about $220) in three minutes, I left in a stupor of profound idiocy and disbelief. Walking away, knowing that I would come clean on the Globalog, I turned and snapped a picture of the man and his game.
The man had one more trick up his sleeve. After loading the pictures into my computer, I went to find the photo of the man. Presto,… NO PHOTO! Yup, all the other pictures from before and after were there, all but the one of the man.
"The Conjurer," painted by Hieronymus Bosch.
6 comments:
Thank you for making my day start with a great big laugh!
Theory: Hieronymus Bosch was hoodwinked, too. Bosch? Brodie? Both bamboozled?
When you watch and others bet, you know where it lands? If he is switching it, shouldn't it appear odd to those not betting, also?
Maybe the ball was inside the box but squished into the top. After you made your choice, did he show you the inside of the box? Hindsight is 20-20, especially from the peanut gallery of Globalog commentors.
This was hilarious, thank you. The blog is very interesting. Happy belated birthday :)
Hey Scott, I'm really shocked, how could you fall into the most common and obvious tourist traps? This is all made up as written on the perfect crime handbook, even the lady who made you believe that winning was easy and all the accomplices around (minimum 5 people involved each time).
If you were lucky, probably all locals were laughing at you, waiting for the next naive American victim to be robbed (yes, it's not just a trick, it's theft; yes, it's sad but Americans are the favorite victims of these gambling thieves, don't know why, probably you should tell me)...
If you were less lucky, probably someone behind would pick-pocket you...
The worst would be carabinieri or polizia fining you, since you are obviously fostering criminal activities. Would you believe: robbed and arrested... a great Italian experience on the first days upon arrival...! ;-)
PS: organized crime won't let you take pictures of them... you were already lucky to bring home your camera! ;-))
PPS: in the meantime, you haven't purchased fake brands or cheap pirated dvds from extracommunitarian street sellers, haven't you?!?! ;-)))
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