... with the nearly seventy casinos currently in “Northern Cyprus”, especially as both sides of Cyprus forbid gambling. The author argues that with Turkey and private investors pouring millions of investment dollars into “Northern Cyprus”, the changing economic reality of the occupied area is leading inevitably...

... with state interference kept to a minimum. Connected to such tran- sient wealth has come much pleasure as well, thus explaining the new Beirut skyline dotted with hotels and casinos. Syrian peacekeeping from 1991 to 2005 combined tough internal security with a free-wheeling economy, just the kind...

... the conditions, make bets, and win over and over again. It’s impossible to stop, just as a gambler who’s losing in a casino cannot stop and an alcoholic cannot stop. The logic is the same: one last bet, one more last small glass, and then . . . but then one more...