As if people were desperate to visit casinos in remote parts of Russia, or as if casinos were something new and exciting, the Russian government decided in 2006 to locate casinos in four zones - the Primorye region, the Siberian Altai region, the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad and the southern Krasnodar-Rostov area.
To date, one or two businesses have expressed interest in building casino complexes in the designated gaming areas but with the present economic circumstances squeezing local authorities, investment for infrastructure in the zones still waits, just as Vladimir and Estragon waited in Samuel Beckett’s timeless masterpiece ‘Waiting for Godot.’
Debuted in Paris in 1953 and restaged innumerable times in innumerable countries, this classic Theatre of the Absurd play remains a shocking and constantly revealing work. Between the subtle and exquisite balance of humour and despair, the two protagonists, Vladimir and Estragon, continue in the perpetual limbo of waiting, much as it now appears the proposed gambling and entertainment centres of Russia will wait.
What is the difference between the absurd play and the absurd plan of Vladimir Putin? The character Vladimir enters a passive adventure in a world that, following the horrors of the First World War, promises nothing. The Russian then-President, acting under a discredited totalitarianism, promised the gaming sector the paradise of Primorsky and Siberia.
If it were not for Putin’s promise being so funny, one would start to cry – just as thousands of gaming employees without hope of jobs are doing. It is certain that some will use their own resources to hew out new occupations, but the jobs have gone and it could take a long time for other employment to be found – maybe forever, as in Beckett’s play.
The paradox of this Russian adventure is that the casinos have closed because of the lack of clear laws and regulations,
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Primorye region of Russia
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and the decision to take the easy way out to seemingly combat gambling addiction. According to Russian politicians, closing casinos brings an end to problem gambling. It seems incredible that in the 21st century such paternalistic measures are being used to treat the malady. Doctors advise that gambling addicts will seek other ways to feed their addiction, and psychiatrists and authorities should prepare for that.
In Moscow the local government says it is prepared with training schemes for the 10,000 newly jobless. However, it is reported that many gaming employees have received no such offer of assistance. It also seems absurd that the 500 gaming centres and around 30 casinos in Moscow are counted as having only 10,000 employees between them. A casino like the Metalitza had over 1,000 employees, some had more.
In the meantime, most of the gaming industry investors have declared that the ‘Las Vegas’ gaming zones have no infrastructure to support such enterprises. The question of the present global financial crisis is not the sole reason for the lack of support for the gaming enclaves, new destinations such as Macau, Singapore, Hungary and Spain are more attractive for gamblers, without counting the established centres such as London, Paris and the actual Las Vegas.
Putin’s law has dispensed with a US$6 billion industry, which in 2008 paid nearly US$1 billion in taxes, and has economic repercussions for almost half a million people. For the majority of Russian gamblers the game will go underground with the resultant social consequences, while the areas of Kaliningrad or Vladivostok will continue to wait like the tragicomic characters of Beckett. (E-07.01.09)
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