Poker Poker Poker!: [vpFREE] Where the Casino Never Wins, and No Player Loses

We just returned from a South Africa trip that included a short
overnight hop into Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls. Zimbabwe
(formerly Rhodesia) is a resource-rich country that's in economic
free-fall due to the larcenous/insane governing policies of President
Robert Mugabe.

But the tourist-oriented Victoria Falls corner of the country is
still peaceful. We stayed at a very nice resort near Victoria
Falls. There, we found a gambling rarity: a gorgeous casino in
which no customer ever loses. At the Makasa Sun Hotel & Casino, all
gambling must be done with Zimbabwe dollars. The official exchange
rate for US dollars was 30,000 to 1, but the black market rate
approached 10,000,000 to 1. Plus, if you exchange foreign currency
legally, they tell you right up front that they won't let you reverse-
exchange back into your own currency. That combination of
circumstances makes it impossible for a tourist gambler to leave
Zimbabwe with a profit. So, although the casino has many friendly
and skilled dealers standing at the ready, it has no customers.
Apparently, even the dimmest and most addicted gamblers can resist
a "no chance" proposition.

One guy in our group exchanged $5 legally just to get some big-
denomination souvenir currency. He then tried to buy a Coke for
4,000,000 Zimbabwe dollars. The storekeeper refused to sell because,
if he sold that can of Coke, he wouldn't be able to use the Zimbabwe
money to restock his shelf. He did offer to trade the Coke for a T-
shirt.

As you may have read, starving Zimbabweans are fleeing into South
Africa by the tens of thousands. See also the recent and increasing
political violence in Kenya. Now two of Africa's inherently richest
countries are collapsing solely because of bad governance. [Any
replies that reference living US politicians must go to VPFreeFree.]

I wonder how long it will be before South Africa teeters. We flew
home from the Johannesburg airport. In that major world city, South
African friends advised (make that VERY STRONGLY advised) that we
should not leave the hotel except to board the airport shuttle.

On the plus side, Cape Town and the Kruger National Park were
wonderful experiences. [See http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=LU8DDYz68kM The buffalo herd represents today's VP players.
You'll recognize the other mammals and reptiles as HET and MGM
managers.]

The more I travel abroad and read about travel abroad, the more I
wish that I could have lived (with lots of money) about 100 years
ago. That's both sad and foreboding.

The GMan