Indonesian gangster gambler
Gangster gambling

You do not want to sit down and play card games with this man. John K. will take your money even when you get 4 aces at poker or score 21 at blackjack. Beating him at these games is an insult and you will pay with your life.

John K., a deranged Jakarta mobster, is an avid card games player and will do all that is necessary to ensure winning. His blackjack strategy is simple: his counterpart, or a victim as that word is more proper, can never win. John K. may not know how to count cards, but he knows very well how to wield a gun should anyone dare to present a winning hand.

One day, Tan T., 50-year-old chicken farmer and blackjack player, felt that this is not right, and the one who is better at these games of skill should win. After learning all he could about blackjack rules, Mr. Tan entered an illegal casino in Jakarta slums, hoping to win some money in order to expand his chicken farm.

The bad news was that he sat against violent Mr. John K., who while smoking speed with a fallen Indonesian movie star, mindlessly threw an undisclosed but large amount of money, on a blackjack bet and lost. Mr. Tan, in great excitement, and against advice of machete-armed thugs, quickly left the casino. The bad news was that he was followed.

The next morning the blackjack winner woke up after hearing wild animal voices. What that reminded him of was the carnage he had seen years ago in Aceh province. No, this wasn’t a Black Jack Tournament or killing, but something that made even Mr. Tan cry: he saw his chickens dead and a bloody note posted on the cut-off head of his favorite mule.

The note explained that he now owns back his blackjack winnings plus ”interest” for a total of Rp 600 million ($65,000) to be repaid within two days. The rest of the story is already known: Mr. Tan was brutally murdered for daring to be better at Blackjack cards than his dreadful opponent.

As sometimes justice is done, the Indonesian police already arrested the gangster.