And although there are enough lucky winners to prove that it can happen, the probability here is hardly any greater. The German Stiftung Warentest (the equivalent to the UK Which?) has even tested gambling (is anything untestable??) and come to the conclusion that the best chance of winning

lies in playing the Staatliche Klassenlotterie. (This is similar to the UK National Lottery, but it has nothing to do with charity!). The Klassenlotterie works with a limited number of lottery tickets, which are being played in sequence. On the other hand, this type of lottery is played with 1/8, 1/4, 1/2

and 1/1 tickets, which means: the higher the bet, the more you can win - or lose. If you want, you can try your luck with further single or annual tickets for a number of charity lotteries: Some of the large charities in Germany run TV shows where not only the participating Smiths and Joneses

can win a new family car, but there’ s also a big wheel of fortune for everyone who has bought a ticket prior to the show. Tickets can be purchased - interestingly enough - at all major banks! If you have so much to lose you might as well go to a casino. Although gambling is officially illegal in

Germany, the state is somewhat lenient and has its tolerance paid for with at least 50% of the revenue of each individual establishment. You can play roulette, baccara and Black Jack, poker of course, and you can handle one-armed bandits. A starting capital of DM 100 minimum is

recommended, which you should also take back home, preferably multiplied by a higher figure... At the roulette table you can play with a minimum stake of DM 5, at other tables it has to be DM 10 or 20. There is also a maximum limit. If you place your bets on one number (1-36) you can win 35 times the amount per game. Or only twice the amount - if you go for the first (1-12), second (13-24), or last dozen numbers (25-36). With 4 numbers (carré) you'll get 8 times your stake, with 3 (transversale plein) 11 times and with 2 (cheval) 17 times... and so on, and the friendly croupiers are happy to help you anyway.
As far as the dress code is concerned, one simply follows Walter Serner: "The fashion of those black-rimmed spectacles, which fulfil the function of equipping the wearer with a brain, equals the habit of those beards that turn 30-year-old crooks into respectable gentlemen in their fifties. Do not resort to such childish behaviour; it will gain you far less confidence than a well chosen tie with a sophisticated knot." (From: Letzte Lockerung, Kleidung und Manieren).
If, however, you believe that happiness lives nowhere near the unrighteous mammon, you should im-mediately turn to the enclosed questionnaire by Max Frisch. After meticuluously answering all the que-stions you will in all probability have reached the moral maturity required for entering a casino.