Stopping a Nation

Imagine if you had the ability to convince people to throw millions of dollars your way with only a mere hope of getting a return. Further imagine that you are able to convince roughly 80% of the adult public of a wealthy nation to do this, not once, not twice, but once each year. then imagine that you can essentially halt the business of the nation for the short time that it takes to run that race. Now, open your eyes and realize that this actually happens; it's called the Melbourne Cup.

Last Tuesday was one of the most important days on the Australian calendar, the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup, Australia's richest horse race. The first Tuesday of November is anticipated with great joy in this country as the time comes to put a bet on a horse or horses. And by the way, that 80% figure is not and exaggeration, it is a government statistic.

I started the day fairly early, around 07:45 as I had to be at my post by 08:15. I didn't sleep terribly well the night before, though, I think I was anxious about my upcoming exams. I would be working at Civic West, a smaller outlet but one at which I have worked before. I was partnered up with David, an older supervisor, as well as a volunteer helper. With just the 3 of us, we would be working flat-out, as they say. Well, once the day got rolling, it really went. Because this outlet is located in the city, it mostly gets civil servants and the like but Melbourne Cup Day is a paid holiday in the ACT (Family and Community Day), so it wasn't expected to be that busy. Although business was a little down from the year before, it was still reasonably busy. That Dixon guy even showed up at one point but didn't cause any trouble.

Well, the bets flowed as the race drew near. The Melbourne Cup, sponsored by Emirates Airlines who also sponsor other major horse races around the world, is run at 15:00 over 3200 meters making it one of the longest races in Australia. It was originally 2 miles long, about 3218 meters but when Australia went metric, they shortened the length of the race. The total prize money for the owners and jockeys this year was $5 200 000 but next year it's going up to $6 000 000! Even that is dwarfed by the betting pools; the Win-Place betting pool alone was close to $40 000 000.

This year, the race was won by horse 21, Shocking. Not a totally unexpected winner and as such, the payouts weren't as big as last year. One lucky soul, though, won on a mystery trifecta, where the computer randomly generates 3 horses. The cost, $6, the payout, about $9 500! There was another payout of around $8 000 and another of around $4 000 I think. But to add a little salt on the wound, I didn't get a single tip! Can you believe that? Even in a country where tipping isn't customary when you win money like that, you can at least throw me a couple of bucks. Not that I could complain about money, though. Since it is a holiday, I made $54.14/hr for the first 7.5 hours and then $67.68/hr for the remaining 2.5 hours I was working, so I probably made more money than most people. One of these days, though, once I'm making good money, I think I'll put a 10-horse trifecta bet and see how I go.

Because of the fast pace, the day was over pretty quickly and we closed up the outlet at 18:00. Some other outlets stayed open until after 22:00. In the company newsletter, it said that overall turnover was higher than last year with some big increases in some outlets. Melbourne Cup day is always exciting and I can't wait until next year's. Unfortunately, the ACT government has moved Family and Community Day so I won't be getting such a fantastic salary that day anymore.

David, my supervisor, also mentioned that one of the internet betting agencies was offering odds on CFL games. He said he was interested and I told him I would tell him anything he wants to know about the CFL. I think it's about time that Australians, and the world in general, took notice of that great sport Canadians cherish.

My mother sent me a piece on delis from the newspaper that says the deli is dying. That may be true,and maybe a little sad, but what is so special about delis? They're not something with which we could do without, except that they often form an important part of a city's identity, like Montreal and New York. The piece also mentioned a New York deli called Katz's as the world's oldest and I'm wondering if that was the deli my family and I visited on our trip to New York in 1999. If so, the thing I remember most is the colossal amount of cream cheese they gave with their bagels. I also remember that my friend Andre (whom I call Dr. Dre, because he's a doctor) took me to Schwartz's, Montreal's most famous deli once for some smoked meat sandwiches. It was quite a deli-ghtful experience, with the most memorable thing being the benches; you sat with other people rather than on your own. Ottawa has, or possibly had, its own famous deli in Nate's, which I don't think I've ever been too. I'll see what I can do, but I can tell you that there are no delis in Australia, at least none that I can find in Canberra.

Yesterday, I had a shift out at the harness track at EPIC. I don't know why, but I've always had a soft spot for harness racing. It's a different experience than the outlets mostly because there are only verbal bets and generally not that many people. The last time I worked at EPIC, it was 40C but yesterday was much more pleasant. Hopefully, I'll get a few more shifts out there; I like it.

Well, I have to get back to studying. I have an exam tomorrow in Commonwealth Constitutional Law. Not the easiest subject; actually it's about 17 subjects squeezed into 1. However, I've been doing some diligent studying and I think I'll be alright. I've looked at past exam papers, looked through my notes a few times and made my summaries. I think I'll do alright.