Jaunted

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Kazakhstan: the Next Gambling Hot Spot?

It's official: President Nursultan Nazarbayev, no longer busy vogueing for his country's tourism commercials, has passed a law requiring all casinos to be located in one of two approved cities: Kapchagai or Shchuchinsk. Kazakhstan is gambling crazed, and though the move reads like a negative blow at first, it could draw in some major dough. Kazakh officials hope to turn the cities into tourist draws, and major investments have been proposed by Chinese companies. Kapchagai could well turn into the Las Vegas of Kazakhstan (that's where the largest Chinese-proposed complex would be based) and Shchuchinsk its Atlantic City--not a bad deal, considering we feel far more comfortable at least trying to pronounce Kapchagai.

Kapchagai is close to Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city and former capital. We've never really felt compelled to visit Macau, but should Kapchagai turn into something better, you might be surprised to learn that you'd be able to reach it fairly easily. Almaty airport is served by several international airlines, including Turkish, KLM, and Asiana and Lufthansa, in addition to those with more highly questionable safety. Start saving those tenge!

[Photo: NYT via IHT]

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