When I visit any town in a foreign country, I always try to visit the local markets, casinos, libraries, universities, and museums rather than tourist attractions.
When I visit those places, I get a feel for the overall atmosphere of the town. You can vaguely see the activities of the people.
Among these five places, casinos may seem a little different. This is simply because I like the unique atmosphere of casinos, and I like to watch people betting enthusiastically even though I don’t play.
I have been to most of the big casinos in the world, but I think Macau was the most interesting among them.
This is because the success of casinos is usually linked to the country’s economy. If you go to a casino in the countryside of the U.S., you will find that it is somewhat deserted, just like a pachinko game at the end of the street. But when you go to Macau or Singapore, which are both booming economies in the U.S. and China, you will find that they are booming like festivals.
In this country, too, the pros and cons of casinos are being debated, but I don’t think that building casinos when the economy is in a bad shape would be very exciting in the first place.
I basically do not gamble, but I am sure that gambling will not disappear from this world as long as the world of mankind continues. This is because, although it may sound exaggerated to call it gambling, betting is something that is rooted in human nature.
In a sense, even our daily life, starting from the cost of lunch, entrance exams, and starting a business are all bets. In other words, life itself is a gamble.
Even in ancient times, when people were starving to the limit and had to choose between two prey, they were, in a sense, gambling with their lives and deaths.
And when the result was correct, not only was their appetite satisfied, but they must have felt a sense of happiness as well.
I am attracted to casinos because I see something close to the expression of human nature in the way people gamble single-mindedly. It is somewhat similar to the feeling of watching a sporting event.
Of course, casinos also have slots and private games, but poker, blackjack, roulette, and other games played on a level playing field are usually accompanied by many onlookers and spectators.
They watch the game as if they were betting on it themselves. If someone wins a big bet, there is loud applause and even cheering. They watch the bettors. That is the decisive difference between horse racing, boat racing, and pachinko. If you were to stare at a winning pachinko player from behind out of curiosity, you would probably be offended.
In this respect, casinos really never get tired of watching the race, social status, and emotions of the people playing their games.
I remember being as happy as if it were me when I was at a casino and happened to see an ordinary tourist get lucky and win tens of millions of dollars.
I am not a proponent of casinos or anything, but putting aside social problems such as gambling addiction and money laundering, I feel that there should be a place where the desire to gamble, which is rooted in human nature, can be dissipated in a legal manner.
People have nothing to bet on. In other words, I believe that there is nothing more boring than a life in which one does not see possibilities for the future.
See you soon.
