Playing for your name

This past weekend I witnessed something totally fun and new (which, in a nutshell, is why I do what I do). The night before their wedding in Hoi An, Vietnam, Kathy and Troy played a game of poker. But not just any old game of poker. This one came with some exceptionally high stakes.

“What were those stakes?” you ask.

Their name.

Loser would take the winner’s family name, forever and ever. Over a game of cards, no less! So would it be Vuong, or Charoensak? Either way, it was going to be a great story to tell the grandkids.

There were some huge swings either way, and as the blinds grew bigger every 15 minutes, the tension grew, until…. in the end, Kathy mounted a massive comeback and won it all.

So the world has lost a Charoensak, but has gained a Vuong. As cousin Jerry said, “we walked in here with 3 Vuongs, and we’ll walk out with 4.”

It’s not every day you get to watch a card game with real stakes like this. Playing for money? Whatever. But you’ve gotta have some real cojones to play for your name.