Day 41: One Tree Hill and Skytower

We left for One Tree Hill, which required a 3 or so mile walk. Luckily, this spot had no affiliation to the American drama TV series… We chose to walk off the beaten path, which took us on winding paths up steep hills and by roaming cattle. We reached the top of the hill where we could perfectly view the city, took a group photo, and returned with another long trek. We relaxed, worked on some thesis, and regrouped at 7:30 to visit the Skytower, the iconic tower downtown that overlooks the city and is the tallest structure by a long-shot. The views were beautiful, and we soaked them in. With our night as a group concluded, us students retreated downstairs to the casino, where I would experience one for the first time.

I started out with NZ$20 on a $5 roulette table, and lost it betting 2:1 on blacks. Hooked, I split it up and tried another combo: net zero, then another $20 lost. Whoops. I knew gambling typically resulted in losses, but holy craps that was fast (pun intended). A little later, I found our friends who were having some luck on a $2.50 roulette table, and I decided another $15 was the most I was going to risk. After all, this was my first time at it. Might as well give it a fair shot and try to make my money back… Says every gambler ever. With their interesting strategy of betting $5 on outside bets for number ranges, the odds were 66.66% to win 3:1 on one, so I went for it. Long story short: this strategy was extremely successful for a while. I went from $55 down to $15 down on the night. And, as the story typically goes: I lost it all. Mitch, on the other hand, went 7 for 7 (possibly more), and turned his $20 into $140… Next time for sure, next time…