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West Bank casino opens amid fanfare, glitz and protests

By Karin Laub
Associated Press

JERICHO, West Bank -- There were no crooning lounge lizards, and a few of the gamblers were as worried about terrorism as how their blackjack hands would play out.

But for most of the VIP crowd at Tuesday's grand opening of the first casino in the Palestinian lands, the question of safety was the same as it is every day in this part of the world -- a roll of the dice.

The $50 million Oasis casino, a glitzy glass-and-stone emporium in the arid moonscape of the Judean desert, opened its doors to a limited group of invitees and prepared for the gambling public to descend starting today.

Only a half-hour from Jerusalem, on the outskirts of the biblical town of Jericho, the casino -- eventually to be joined by luxury hotels and golf courses -- hopes to attract foreign tourists, Israelis and Palestinians who live in Israel. Residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are being barred at the request of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

That request apparently was made in part to appease Arafat's Islamic opposition, which has condemned gambling as sinful and said Tuesday that it was considering what steps to take now that the casino is open.

At a blackjack table, Arabs from East Jerusalem and Israelis sat side by side, laying down their bets.

"There's no discrimination here -- it gives me a good feeling," said Sami Alayan, a 26-year-old Palestinian who owns a small construction company. "This will bring us together."

Michael Levy, a 60-year-old surgeon from Tel Aviv, said he hopes to become a regular at the Oasis, although he is somewhat concerned it could become a target for terror attacks.

"If there's even the slightest incident here, all the money invested will go out the window," Levy said.

At the roulette table, a Palestinian was calling bets when asked whether the casino would help bring peace.

"It'll help our economy," the dealer said, then segued smoothly back into his croupier's role. "No more bets, please!" he called.

Arafat's cash-strapped government hopes the casino will prove a jackpot in the form of gaming taxes. But some Palestinians living nearby fear that little of the wealth generated by the casino will trickle down.

The contrasts of glamour and poverty are inescapable. The casino is just across the street from the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, a shantytown of dirt roads, water shortages and frequent power outages.

While the VIPs arrived, a few locals lingered at the gate, peeking in to try to catch a glimpse. Guards turned them away.

Security was tight. Before bettors could roll the dice or play a hand of blackjack, they were searched and scanned by metal detectors. When the casino opens to the public, gamblers will have to register their passport numbers.

The opening-night crowd quickly ballooned into the hundreds, with buses rolling in from Tel Aviv and a steady stream of cars.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had few areas of agreement with the Palestinians of late, had nothing critical to say about the Palestinian move into the gambling trade.

"It's their choice -- we respect it," he said. Gambling is illegal in Israel.

Some Muslims, however, are railing against the casino as a den of iniquity. The militant group Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, stopped short of direct threats, but made clear its displeasure.

"This is an indicator of corruption," the group's spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, said Tuesday in the Gaza Strip. "In the name of Hamas we condemn this project. . . . We are studying the steps we shall take."

The gala opening comes at a tense time. Hamas has threatened new attacks against Israeli targets after last week's killing of two of its top fugitives by Israeli troops.

The Austrian operators of the Oasis say the casino is only the start of what will become the largest resort in the Middle East, with three luxury hotels, golf courses and convention facilities planned -- along with 5,000 high-paying jobs for Palestinians.