Playing their cards right in World Rummy tournament

Even if South Korea played this game against North Korea, there would hardly be an exchange of word. Rummy – a group of matching card games – is a sport where competition goes for a walk and one plays it solely to have fun. No wonder, the second edition of the World Rummy Tournament held at the NSCI, Worli, was a quiet affair despite the finale being on a four-day cruise on the Starcruise Libra in Malaysia-Thailand along with a prize money of Rs.25 lakh.

With eyes set on the cruise, which is all set to sail between March 9-12 this year hosting the finals, around 120 participants thronged the venue to play their cards right.

The tournament, sponsored by Jungleerummy.com, is the game brand of Pan India Network Limited- part of the Essel Group of Companies.

“Rummy’s such an easy game to learn. People play this game with their familes, the idea is to have fun and this is exactly why so many people are here today. Not only through this tournament held here, but the participants can also win a ticket to the cruise playing online with a buyout of just 10 rupees,” said Gautam Thawani, Marketing Head at Pan India Network Limited.

Soli Cooper, the winner of the 2012 Mumbai edition, hopes to play the right card again. “Seeing an increase in the turnout shows how many people have taken to the game. All of us are here to have fun and discuss the game we have loved as we grew up,” said the 58-year-old who is also an administrative officer with Tata Power.

“With the same tournament being held in other cities, around 240 finalists are expected under one roof at the cruise,” added Thawani.