Quote from Geertz's "Deep Play"

"It is, in fact, in shallow games, ones in which smaller amounts of money are involved, that increments and decrements of cash are more nearly synonyms for utility and disutility, in the ordinary, unexpanded sense--for pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappiness. In deep ones, where the amounts of money are great, much more is at stake than material gain: namely, esteem, honor, dignity, respect--in a word, though in Bali a profoundly freighted word, status. It is at stake symbolically, for (a few cases of ruined addict gamblers aside) no one's status is actually altered by the outcome of a cockfight; it is only, and that momentarily, affirmed or insulted."

Page 71-72

I found this quote utterly important in the sense that Geertz dismays the importance of money and upholds the argument of status in the Bali community. He argues that the betting is slightly relevant in shallow games (in terms of money) because the betters have more to lose. In larger games however, it is status that is perceived to be won and lost. Conclusively, I chose this quote because Geertz speaks volumes about the insignificance of money and the perceived importance of status during cockfights.