Blogs: Jack considers heading abroad

Jack has finished his degree. His job hunt is proving a long and difficult road.

Another blog, another change of fortune - Lady Luck has deserted me, it pains me to say. We were getting on so well, I was treating her well, taking her out, expensive gifts, lovely dinners, but it wasn’t enough. She found someone who needed her more, and with that was gone as quick as a flash to the next hapless drone.

It is no coincidence that my downturn has coincided with the end of the national hunt season, especially tipping wise. Up until Cheltenham 2011, I had seriously considered myself a flat racing fan, and looked forward to Royal Ascot for five days of excellent, pulsating crème-de-la-crème racing.

But Cheltenham last year did something to me, and found a way to affect me in the same way test cricket did when I was a lad back in the mid-nineties, watching on the small portable at my grandparents’ in the summer holidays. The sense of togetherness and camaraderie in national hunt racing is unparalleled in other forms of racing, and leaves viewers and fans alike with a uniquely warm, comforting feeling.

So, I have reached yet another plateau and I’m not exactly sure what to do. Although a lot of my Cheltenham and Aintree profits have been invested in tickets to follow the England cricket team at Lords, The Oval and Headingley, I’m not looking forward to it anywhere near as much as I expected - I should be salivating at the thought.

Work will become longer and more difficult during the summer, friends will be making plans and actually doing things in the evening, whereas I will be sat behind the counter, taking bets on virtual racing. My morale has been hit further as I have been warned and cautioned regarding my enthusiasm (and lack thereof) in pointing people to play the dreaded fixed-odds betting terminal (FOBT) machines, which are seen as metaphorical cash machines in the eyes of bookmakers.

As a sporting and racing enthusiast, it pains me to see people lose ridiculous amounts of money on these machines, but I am also very aware that they perform better, in terms of turnover and profit, than over-the-counter-trade. I’m not too knowledgeable about such components of business, though; if you want football results, cricket squads, golf markets, racing form, rugby fixtures, however, I’m your man. Somehow this seems to count for little in this particular line of work.

As such, I have decided to capitalise upon a recent approach from a recruitment agency working on behalf of a few companies based in Gibraltar, which is now a haven for betting companies thanks to its favourable 10% corporation tax. Unfortunately I currently live a fairly expensive lifestyle, and working 40 hours in a bookies, while having its perks, doesn’t pay handsomely. So what better way to utilise my business background with an extensive knowledge of the betting market and industry than to make a career of it?

According to my father, ‘Gibraltar is like England in the 70s and 80s’. Sounds like my cup of tea - I was born 20 years too late as it is.

The Yorkshireman - Jack Milner

Follow his misery on Twitter - @JJMSports