What will happen to the High Rolling Russians?
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by: Joe Franklin
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Word Count: 383
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 Time: 2:25 PM
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It is dreadful news for those well healed Russians who love to spend some of their spare time in the Casinos. New and draconian laws have banned the continued operation of casinos within Russia. This seems reminiscent of the Russia of olden times when communism and the cold war were the orders of the day. Back then any form of gambling was strictly illegal throughout the USSR. After glasnost and the eventual total collapse of the Soviet Union, gambling houses started to re-emerge. Before long casinos were springing up everywhere, and were considered symbolic of the new found freedoms of modern Russia.
Now it seems that Russia is returning slowly to the old days. There are signs that tensions are reappearing in relationships between the East and the West and some cold war attitudes that were once thought dead and buried are making themselves felt once again. Russia seems to be slipping back to the old days.
Thanks directly to Vladimir Putin, Casinos have now been confined to specific and remote regions of the country, but the casino owners know that it make no business sense to move their establishments to these barren locations, and the result is that everywhere casinos are closing down, their premises being converted to restaurants and other forms of entertainment. This move has been very costly and it is estimated that half a million jobs have been lost as a result.
Already the Casino owners are looking to move their businesses of Russia and into Europe, which is not going down too well with their European competitors, fearful of over-diluting the market. Others are looking at moving into the online casino business.
Of course the high rolling Russian gamblers are stuck with no place to go, and to an increasing extent they are visiting European casinos. In one particular case a famous London based casino is providing private jets to ferry these rich Russian players between London and Moscow for an evening at the tables.
This is fine for the Russian high rollers, but what about ordinary people? They are finding the only way to gamble socially is through poker clubs, which to date seem to have bypassed the law.
About the Author
Online casino games have become very popular. Games such as roulette, poker and slots can be played on sites such as http://www.onlinecasino.org.uk
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