FORTY TWO women aged between 75 and 85, including a 95-year-old from Limassol, were shocked on Sunday when police raided their card game and confiscated their €100 in betting money.
Officers found the 42 women at the club run by two women aged 79 and 70. The oldest person arrested was a 95-year-old. The raid took place around 6pm on Sunday after a series of complaints by neighbours about noise in the evenings when the women were coming and going from the house.
Officers found that one of the rooms in the house had been set up with several tables covered in green felt. The 42 women were caught seated around the tables playing poker and gin rummy for cash in a similar fashion to a gambling club.
Following a search police confiscated 546 chips, 530 playing cards and approximately €100 in cash. All of the women were charged in writing at the police station and then released.
The incident, however, does not appear to be and isolated one as card playing is the hobby of many elderly ladies in Limassol. Playing cards for money is illegal in Cyprus.
“Most of my friends are widows and at our age there is not much to do. For years now we organise afternoon tea parties at our houses each week, on a rotating basis. We get together, drink tea and play cards. We only gamble a few euros and it’s all just for fun,” said an 87-year-old Limassol resident who preferred to stay anonymous.
“The only thing police achieve by doing such raids is to ridicule women of a certain age,” she said.
This extract is taken from the Cyprus Mail online newspaper.
