Russia takes a gamble with remote casinos

By MIKE ECKEL Associated Press MOSCOW -- One of the glitziest symbols of cash-splashing Russians vanished from Russia's cityscapes Wednesday as a law banning casinos, slot-machine parlors and betting halls outside four remote regions of the country went into effect. The law, a brainchild of Russia's famously anti-vice Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, was estimated to put 400,000 people out of work at a time when Russia's economic crisis is deepening and unemployment is rising. The government is also forgoing billions of tax dollars, and observers say it could drive gambling -- an industry understood to be controlled by a criminal element -- underground. A gamble worth taking, say officials, who hope to root out the criminal element and project Putin's image as a clean-cut workaholic onto the general population. Following the... [read full story]                    

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