Gambling

Don’t tell the KSAC town clerk, but last Saturday I supported illegal vending and purchased an item from a peddler on Beckford Street. She scrutinised the $100 bill that I tendered noticing that a previous holder had scribbled on it with black ink. Her eyes lit up and she yelped.

“Wah, it have numbaz! Denise, Cash Pot”, and scampered over to her friend.

The moral of this story could be: if you want black people to read anything put it on the back of the racing pools or run a Drop Pan.

Business reports in the media have claimed that revenue collected by Supreme Ventures Ltd (SVL), purveyors of the Drop Pan-style game “Cash Pot” has outstripped the Jamaica Lottery Company (JLC) by more than 100 per cent after less than one year of operations. On the city streets and in rural districts, All Woman is picking up a vibe that this is the game of chance that is particularly popular with women.

Suzette Walters, (not her real name) administrator at a high school in the Corporate Area says that she buys this game regularly and in the long run wins more than she buys.

“My favourite number is 19, I don’t know what happen, but whenever I play that I win. I have to buy it straight for two weeks then I win more than what I spent overall. I spend $20 and win $1,000-$3,000.

“What I hear, is that this is what some people live off, when they are out of a job they will buy it every day. I know a watchman that plays it when he has nothing to cook and he will get enough money from it to buy his dinner.”

A one-off anecdote perhaps, so All Woman visited several gaming establishments in Clock Tower Plaza, Half-Way-Tree last Wednesday afternoon to see if we could witness this phenomenon for ourselves. The cheapest game you can buy is either a $5 Exacta or Superfecta available at off track bookmakers; while lotteries such as the JLC combos or SVL Lucky Five are still reasonable at $20.00.

We did not see an overwhelming number of female players but Junior McCarthy helped to explain why. A horseracing man himself, but as a courtesy he regularly places Cash Pot bets for a group of cosmetologists. He says that it is a game for ordinary ‘housewives’ — read women.

“Dem give me the numbers and the money. Dem understand the numbers more, but nah buy big, big as me, an dem always win.”

In reply, a beautician at Paula’s Beauty Care and Barber Salon explains: “We dream and we buy. Me win more than weh me buy. Me deh ketch the $700 nuff and it buy some lunch for me good.” Her colleagues agreed and said that although they had mixed successes with Cash Pot, they knew people who won more often than not.

All-round gaming enthusiast Nedford Robinson believes that the Cash Pot odds are better, calling it a “fast money thing”. He says that women prefer it as, “If a man spends $20 he considers that winning to be chicken feed; can’t buy a brand name shoes. Women say, that is a meal for my kid or lunch money for tomorrow.”

There also seemed to be a feeling that with Cash Pot you are dealing with The Man, a real person who you the player were dealing with on a one and one. The Man does not choose your number randomly, it means something to him too.

Cash Pot is a traditional game, but this cannot be enough to make it a female player’s choice. Just as Castor Oil is well known to be great for hair care but it isn’t a hot-selling item. There are more compelling reasons why this quietly popular low-tech game has translated well into the digital age. On the face of it we can note that the personal connection between player and The Man, perceived higher odds, and low cost per bet seems to have made a special connection with ladies today.