YKN HUNT - SAFE BETS

MALACCA 18 Jul 09: Wanna bet? It is not uncommon for these two words to pop up when disputes arise during a conversation. Betting is often regarded as a gentlemanly way to settle minor disgreements.

It is said that world famous bookmakers, William Hill and Ladbrokes will take odds on just about anything. The most bizarre bet ever accepted by William Hill thus far must have been the one proposed by a London resident by the name of Matthew Dumbrell, who wagered that the world would come to an end by 12:50pm on 11th August 1999. With odds of 1,000,000 to 1, had the world really ended then, Matthew would have become an instant millionaire. Only problem was, how did he plan to collect his winnings, hmmm?

Betting too is not uncommon in treasure hunting circles. Bets are often offered at the dinner table usually for a token sum and all in good fun. I witnessed one such event taking place during dinner at the YKN Hunt. A handful of punting-hunters had agreed to predict the podium finishers for the day's hunt with the correct finishing order used to break any tie. And interestingly, perhaps due to our humble nature, all punters that night intentionally left out their own teams from their betting slips.

No prizes for guessing the owners of these slips.

I usually wouldn't think twice about partaking in such a flutter. I call such bets safe bets. While the dictionaries define a safe bet as a wager that has low or no associated risks, I have a very different definition. I associate a safe bet as one that even though one were to lose the bet, one would still end up being a winner. I made such a bet with a team mate during the Penang Food Hunt 2008 as I didn't quite agree with one of the answers we had written down, and offered to bet. In the end the answer was deemed correct and I lost a can of 100 Plus to her, but we did end up with a perfect score and won the hunt!

Although I probably saved 20 bucks that night watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, I still had quite an adrenaline rush waiting in anticipation to find out the winner of that tri-way wager!

One question caught my attention for the right reasons during the hunt. I rather enjoy cryptic crafts that are laced with common knowledge that one tends to take for granted.

Q15: With Ted I should be when small.

Ans: Dot Communication.

And this was the treasure that was responsible for confusing more than a few teams that day.

T1:

From your caring hearts, perhaps, is born this treasure,

Filled with love, it is brewed with pleasure,

With an addition, thus is complete this concoction,

In a pack for the folks at the Finish Station.

Ans: A pack of Ovaltine.

Winners (L-to-R): KK, Margaret and VK

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18-19 Jul: YKN Treasure of the Caring Hearts
(Maximum possible score: 130 pts)

1st: Chai Koh Khai, Margaret Sha, Chong Voon Kiat (123)
2nd: Johan Salul, Dr Ben Lau, Lily Loh, Teoh Cheow Teong (119)

3rd: Sin Yoong Leong, Claire Chin, Julie Tan, Goh Teck Koon (114)

4th: Tan Kok Cheeng, Anwar Jeffri, Lim Say Chye, Chan Kah Sing (110)

5th: Gary Gunasegar, Alexander Hoh, Liew Kok Seng, Chong Foo Seong (106)

6th: Mohd Asri, Amir Hamzah, Haji Suhaimi, Mohd Izhar Shukor (105)

7th: Chan Heng Chew, Tan Bee Bee, Adelynne Chan (102)*

8th: Ahmad Zahrol, Sharifah Nur Laila & family (96)

9th: Ismail Ibrahim, Aziz Rahman (89)

10th: Wong Kok Keong, Tan Ai Sim & team (82)

*Note: also winners of the Family Category