Lebanon Casino Offers Semblance of Normalcy

Casino du Liban in Lebanon is trying to hold on to sanity amid the crisis going on in the country, by conducting business as usual.

The casino nestled on a hill on the tip of the Bay of Junieh north of Beirut seems to be sending out the message: "The show must go on". However, instead of the usual closing time of five in the morning, the casino closes at a modest 1:00 am.

Trouble is never far away though, and like a reminder, just a few days earlier, an Israeli air strike left a crater in a road bridge near the casino.

"Everybody is feeling down. There is no life. You call this life?" said a cashier, gesturing to a mostly empty room full of slot machines and flashing lights. "Normally you can't walk through here, the crowd is so thick."

Only one of the casino's three gaming rooms is open, for those fond of playing roulette and blackjack. The casino maintains a sense of normalcy as guests are asked to hire a jacket and tie if they fail to show up in the proper dress code.

The private rooms that usually hold the high-rollers are closed, and the cashier explained that this was because the guests who occupy the rooms have been the first to leave the country.

"Who knows what will happen tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow we will have no petrol, no mobiles, maybe we will be back on donkeys," a sad young Lebanese hostess said. "And if Syria and Iran become involved, then it's game over."

One of the country's gaming institutions, the national lottery, has already been closed due to the war. 2 million dollars are up for grabs for when the gaming resumes.

"We hope with all our heart that these harsh trials which we are enduring will come to an end the soonest," reads the lottery operator's advertisement in the local papers.