Casino Colombo: Game’s on, but all bets are off!
View(s):Good thing I’m not a betting man, dears. Or else I’d be tempted to inveigle you into a little side wager between us. You, being an honest tax cheat and upright citizen, who never gets caught doing anything underhanded, would be naively intrigued by its simplicity. I, a cynic, sceptic, lover of the human heart’s ability to deceive its own mind, would play the innocent. What’s the bet (I’d ask in my wide-eyed way of wonderment) that the wardens, good watchdogs, and law-abiding guardians of the Blessed Isle would never permit it, or us its Blessed Islanders, to be converted into the casino capital of South Asia? So there’s you, sensing a sure winner, putting your money down at 100:1 to against. Who’s the gullible one now, do I hear you ask, O gentle reader?
One day we woo the Hon. Jim. The next we boo him for being so presumptuous as to set up his ungodly social establishment in the lily-livered, lotus-eating centre of our Righteous Society. Only to have dear old James shoo himself off the stage, off centre, out of the spotlight, for the nonce, until a more propitious time – and a more lucrative deal – transpire. But Packers of his ilk are not so blithely or lightly packed off without someone feeling the pinch and others having to bite the bullet. Before long, the Casino Bill was back on the boards again. Much to the dismay of every right-thinking moralist, ethicist, and the Great Leaders (don’t translate that, dears!) of the philosophical right-wing. Well, maybe I exaggerate a bit. Only a few diehard religionists of the old school, one-and-a-half principled legislators sensing a press op, plus a handful of political opportunists masquerading as the opposition – only they, brave few, opposed the bill…
In the meantime, some of the more vociferous Great Leaders (what did I tell you not to do, dears?) came out of their brief self-imposed vow of silence to protest volubly. It would be a Bad Thing for the Blessed Isle. It would set a Terrible Precedent. It would open the doors to Sin, Salacity, and Samsaric bondage. There would be Booze sans controls, Broads sans common decencies, and Betting sans courtesies being paid to state coffers. Of course they did not express themselves in such course lingo as used in Macao, Monaco, or Monte Carlo. But their meaning was clear. It would mean the Decline and Fall of our Great and Ancient Culture and possibly the End of Eastern Civilisation as we know it. Problem is: The Powers That Be had set their heart, liver, and lungs on it. Romance. Alcohol. Tobacco. Someone smell a RAT?
But there is the Way of the Bodhisatva to think of, no! We cannot promote prostitution and a plethora of other addictions, can we? At least we cannot be seen or heard of or thought as to be doing so… What a dilemma we got ourselves into the day we decided to run with the hare and hunt with the hound.
Dear, dear. Something must be done. Soon. As a distraction. Any darn thing should do. Allegations of an international conspiracy to gatecrash CHOGM scantily disguised as chorus girls? (Charles, we’re on to you!) Agitation against the unscrupulous corporates who stand to gain billions in profits from the formal introduction of Gaming Centres and Red Light Districts? (Chee…) Anti-halal fervour all over again? (Checkmate.) Anything, really, to take one’s mind off the fact that Colombo’s casinoisation will go on no matter what…
Wanna bet? Yes, dears, you betcha! Who will stand in its way? The powers that be think a tax holiday on top of special development licence (in every sense of the word) is the way forward. The political opposition can’t take the high moral ground as long as they look back and see a Joe Sim in their closet for every Sunny Jim in the government’s cabinet. The opprobrious prelates emit holier-than-thou food for thought in public but eat humble pie in private. So, it’s simply a case of “game on” – and all other bets are off! Bring on the dancing girls! (No, Charley-boy, we don’t mean you, dear…)
History challenged us once with Pascal’s wager: If God exists and you believe, heaven’s assured; but if you don’t, heaven’s lost and hell’s sure… If God doesn’t and you do – or don’t – nothing’s lost to you anyway: so you might as well believe. Hysteria around the Casino Colombo project now confronts us with Packer’s bet or dilemma: If it happens and you protested, you will be in outer darkness; and even if you didn’t, you’d be weeping and gnashing your teeth unless you were in the inner circle; but if it doesn’t – sorry, game over… all bets are off: because you can bet your bottom Aussie dollar that this one’s a dead certainty.
comments powered by Disqus