Again, I’m afraid this is a YouTube program, but the other day I saw a conversation between Mr. Iko Igawa, former chairman of Daio Paper Corporation, who wrote “Melting Again”, and Mr. Garcy, a member of the House of Councilors.
The two have one thing in common: they are both authors of books that Mr. Minowa, the editor, has worked on, and they are both big gamblers.
Of course, their main game is casinos. I wrote about casinos a while ago, but I have a peculiar thing in that I do not gamble, but I like the atmosphere of casinos, and their story reminded me of the casino scene.
The reason I don’t gamble is simply because I am weak. I have never won at mahjong, poker, pachinko, or slots in my life, let alone had beginner’s luck.
I am a sucker for mahjong. I am weak at Shogi and Othello, and as is often said of these types of people, I am treated as a completely stupid person.
However, when I read the biography of Shinichi Hoshi, the king of short stories, I find it comforting to hear that he was weak in all forms of gambling as well, and that he liked to play mahjong when he was drunk and did not care much about winning or losing.
After all, gambling is probably the only way to win if you don’t hate losing anyway. I think you have to have the power of mind, or the power to attract luck.
I think this is somewhat similar to life. When I see successful people around me, I am determined to be successful. I believe that I will succeed, and I even say it in my words, and I have not only people, but even luck on my side. I am not Mr. Inoki, the professional wrestler, but “It’s the spirit of life,” is actually the simplest and perhaps the most successful philosophy.
Back to the subject, I believe that gambling has been around since the birth of mankind, as has alcohol. However, instead of winning without luck on your side, if the total amount of luck in life were fixed, it might be a waste to consume it.
Kinichi Hagimoto once said, “When something bad happens, you are glad instead. When I gamble or win the lottery (although I have never won), I think something bad is going to happen because of it. I am afraid of winning.
So, I am not a sore loser, but when I lose at mah-jongg or other games, I think that my luck will come back to me in a different way, so even if I lose, I am rather unconcerned, and people around me think that I am not only stupid, but also a complete softy.
I feel frustrated because I lost, so I study. He tries to get better. In mahjong, horse racing, and pachinko, your chances of winning will increase in proportion.
But baccarat, or the old-fashioned chinchillorin with dice, is completely luck. And because there is no need to study at all (although you have to learn the rules), the euphoria you feel when you win is extraordinary.
To put it bluntly, you may feel as if you have challenged something beyond human knowledge and won. The larger the sum, the greater the euphoria.
I don’t have the desire or the capacity to take on such a grand challenge, so I think it’s just as well to think that something good will come out of it if I lose.
See you later.
