Opportunity and Cost of Entertainment

The IGC Alliance Tournament has once again come to an end, with the exciting grand final win of Vydra Relolded watched by billions across the cluster. For many, the Tournament is a chance to socialize with friends and bet on the action. For Olalm Simolker it represents opportunity.

Simolker is the CEO and co-founder of Simolker Cleaning Solutions, the company contracted by the Independent Gaming Commission to handle the cleanup and recovery of wrecks and corpses in the AT XVI battle arenas. The task would be considered grim by many, but it’s just another day for the employees of SCS.

“I guess it’s not really something you grow up to want to do, I actually wanted to be a forklift driver,” Simolker told NOH's This Is The State in an interview Friday evening, taking the time from his busy tournament schedule. “Recovering cadavers from space is something that not everyone can do. I think it takes a certain person, someone who isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty but also someone who can show the proper respect to the dead.”

Many detractors of Capsuleer tournaments use the loss of life as one of many examples as to why they shouldn’t be glamorized. The debate was taken again to the forefront of public discourse recently, with the controversy surrounding "Bad Taste Bets", a Tierijev-based betting agency focused on the more macabre elements of capsuleer combat. The demonstrations against the agency erupted into violence on Tierijev IV.

“I understand why that’d upset people, I mean I don’t agree with the rioting over it, of course, but I get it," said Simolker. “I always make sure that the bodies we recover are treated well. Of course, if I found out any of my workers were making bets, there’d be hell to pay! After all, we have ethical and anti-insider betting clauses in our contract with IGC to comply with.”