It is currently 9 am and it is still boisterous here. What can be seen here is some overnight die – hards are making bets at the gambling tables while the exhausted ones are taking small naps nearby. This is Kings Romans, a splendid casino with a huge golden crown on the top, is located on the side of Laos along the Mekong River. The casino owned by a Chinese in Ton Pheung district is a 10,000 square meter leisure centre called ‘Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone’. The other two nations in the Golden Triangle are Thailand and Myanmar, which are just on the opposite bank of the river. These two countries have long been known for organizing illegal activities consist of human trafficking, weapons smuggling and rare animals trafficking.
The establishment of the casino is an attempt made by the Government of Laos with an aim to make profit from an activity which is considered to be illegal in China but Laotian’s favorite.
This is such great news to the Chinese who love gambling but cannot be satisfied in their country.
However, with 24 hours open per day and all days in the week, Kings Romans gains a stable number of gamblers form China. Chinese gamblers have been regarded as among the world best gamblers when always come back with suitcases full of cash.
A hostess at the casino expressed surprise when she saw Chinese gamblers stayed at the gambling table for one or two day playing nonstop.
Special Economic Zone looks like a small replica of China. All of the clocks here are set to Beijing time, yuan is the main currency and the mostly used language here is Chinese.
It is quite surprise to know that not many employees here are Laotian. Most of them are from Myanmar and China.
For the country which is landlocked and poor like Laos, the casino is such a valuable source of income. The zone is a great way for Laos to gain money from China. What a profound investment.
However, there is no such thing as a free lunch, this investment comes hand – in – hand with the serious damages on the environment and the lack of land for other projects.
Observers stated that the Special Economic Zone had now turned into the place where people used to wash dirty money from China.
The Golden Triangle has been popular for producing drugs for long times. It used to produce the drug that is the second most sought drug in the world.
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