Monday, January 3, 2011

Syria: gambling making a quiet comeback


First casino to open for 25 years celebrated its first week in business with a New Year's Eve party

Lauren Williams in Damascus
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 2 January 2011

"It is 2am and the money is flowing. The sound of chips landing on the tables chimes with house music filling the room and the roll of the ball along the roulette wheel.

A shout goes out and the young lady's number has come up. Under a tacky painted replica of the Sistine Chapel, replete with gaudy gold leaf and paisley carpets, the new generation of gamblers are living the high life.

Bow-tied waitresses in miniskirts deliver high-ball rums to men in suits while heavily-painted women sip champagne from their positions on the sidelines.

It isn't Las Vegas. This is downtown Damascus.

In a move that is certain to divide religious communities, the first casino to open for 25 years celebrated its first week in business with a New Year's Eve party where entry cost £300 per reveller.

It is the only fully-fledged casino to open in the region, outside Lebanon.

Gambling in Syria is technically illegal....."

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