Page 3 of 4

Things began brilliantly, with our £20 of chips quickly doubling in size. They jotted down the winning numbers looking for patterns but our haphazard approach was the one paying dividends.

But I quickly became more interested in what was happening on the “big-boys” table, which was where the girls were too.

A woman looking for all the world like Marlene from Only Fools And Horses had just lost £400 in about for minutes.

“That’s what you don’t want to do,” said our kindly adoptive uncle.

“Once you get on a losing streak like that you stop, not dig yourself deeper. That woman reckons this casino pays for her holiday every year.

“I bet she’d get a lot further if she put her money in the bank.”

Then our beginners’ luck began to fade.

The only time we seemed to win was when I went to the toilet. Sensing a freaky omen I spent much of the next hour there trying not to look too dodgy. Sparking up a conversation wherever possible to while away the time. I asked one young lad: “How’s your luck?”

“Absolute rubbish. You can have it for a tenner,” he said.

“As soon as my mate starts losing we’re going home.”

Sometime after 2am with our £50 stake dwindling away, I spotted the same guy winning big on the blackjack table. That’s the game for me, I thought, something with a bit of skill involved.

Next page…