Russian Leaders Stick to Casino Closing Plan
Despite the prospect of suddenly leaving enough people to populate several large cities without jobs, the prime minister and president of Russia both insist this week's deadline to close down casinos across the country will be enforced. Both Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev insist the plan to shut down all gambling establishments will occur as scheduled this Wednesday, July 1st.
The government plan is to allow four remote gambling zones well away from Moscow to open as the country's new restricted gaming areas for tourists. But infrastructure problems and a lack of desire by casino operators to move thousands of miles from their customer base has left the zones still years from operating, if ever.
Meanwhile, the hundreds of thousands of casino employees are scrambling to find new work, as a massive wave of unemployment prepares to shock the Russian economy, and the country faces losing a billion dollars or more in taxes.
“We all thought that this was some kind of government thing that would not happen,” Aleksandr Osin, an employee at the Shangri-La Casino in Moscow, told the New York Times. The belief the government would have to change course caused many to stay until the last minute, certain plans must be altered.
“The rules will not be revised in any way,” announced Medvedev, nominally the country's top leader, although most believe Putin still makes every important decision.
World Bank figures say the Russian economy will likely contract by nearly eight percent this year. Add the impact of as many as 400,000 freshly unemployed residents, the vast majority of whom live in or near Moscow, and Russia might be building itself the perfect economic disaster.
