Shomakie Travels: ANZAC DAY

Australian New Zealand Army Corps Day was friday
It's a national holiday and it's a BIG deal! Starting out all I knew about it was that everyone gets the day off and that a gambling game called 2-Up is played at all the RSL (return service league) clubs.
It's the only day of the year that it's legal to play so I had to check it out!
So I made my way to the local 'Diggers' (referring to men digging ditches at war) where I queued up to show ID and sign in as a guest. I then proceeded to walk around the place and learn the ropes while trying to look as tho I'm not gawking and/or sticking out like a sore thumb. (aka- American girl with out a clue) all I could figure out was that you got a drink and then joined a crowd of people outside where there was yelling, money being waved around in the air and passed between people while the attention seemed focused at the center of the circle which had some undetermineable action taking place that resulted in cheers or booing and more money passing.

Wha?!?! I had the brilliant idea to scout out a handsome fellow (because there were plenty!) strike up a convo and get the inside scoop ;) But... I didn't! And then my friends showed up and taught me the ropes. This is what I learned:

The holiday is actually quite celebrated by everyone (with more than just a party) there are dawn services everywhere, a big parade in the city, singing, flags and everyone posts "lest we forget" etc. Even most of the servicemen will go to Europe for Anzac Day sometime in their life because it's a big deal. No matter how many times I had it repeated (and even spelled) for the life of me I couldn't understand the name of the place/battle (their equivalent of D-day or Pearl Harbor. It's european) I have found over three months that although Americans and Australians both speak English, it is NOT the same language! Anyways- apparently Mel Gibson is in a movie about it that I will have to watch. (Since then and for this blog I found this site http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac-tradition/ and learned is Gallipoli)
So back to 2-up now:
The game is basically a coin toss. In the center of the circle a "spinner" (even I had a go) flips three coins at once and 2 out of 3 showing heads/tails wins it. The spinner always bets on heads and they have to 'hit' three times in a row to make any money. But it is 8 times their initial entry because it doubles on itself with each toss. Basically- I saw some bets get up to $400+ But most people (everyone around the circle) plays with smaller bills and it is toss for toss you either double your money or bust. If you wanna play you just hold your money above your head and holler what you're betting "ten for tails" or "tweny-ed" (which is Aussie short for "20 head") and then you find someone else around you who is playing with the same bills (it's helpful each denomination is a different color) with the opposite wager. Then the flip happens and there you go. Everyone once and while everyone breaks into a chant "heads, heads, heads" or some song "Olay, Olay..." I don't know why they did that! Maybe it still sounds confusing. This description and pics really can't capture it at all. Could be one of those things you say "you just had to be there" So may I recommend you experiencing an ANZAC day for yourself some day :) So glad that I did- in the end, it was very enlightening, quite a bit of fun and a very Aussie thing to do