LEBANON: FAMOUS CASINO REOPENS

Описание: (3 Dec 1996) English/Nat

The Casino du Liban, the most famous and glitziest symbol of Lebanon's pre-war heyday, reopens on Tuesday night.

Before Lebanon's civil war erupted in 1975, the casino was renowned for attracting Hollywood celebrities and the world's rich and famous to its tables.

The country now hopes the casino will turn Lebanon once again into the playground of the Middle East.

Sitting on a coastal rock overlooking Jounieh, Lebanon's main Christian town about 13 miles (20 kilometres) north of Beirut, the casino's location made the perfect pleasure haven for the international jet-set.

But the strategic location also turned it into a victim of Lebanon's 15-year civil war.

Today, brightly painted ceilings, engraved glass windows and crystal chandeliers have replaced militia graffiti and shrapnel-peppered walls.

Its downfall mirrored the destruction suffered during the civil war.

The casino struggled to stay open and was a meeting place for ardent Christian and Muslim gamblers who crossed the political and sectarian divide to play together.

It finally succumbed in 1989, a year before the conflict ended.

Many hope the casino's reopening will tell the region, and the world, that Lebanon's getting back to business.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"This is the first step to say to all the countries around Lebanon that we are recovering after the war and we are ready to receive you as we will do it from the old times."
SUPER CAPTION: Habib Letaif, Director General of the club

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Lebanon has come back to life again and we hope to open, we open on December the 2nd, not only the gates to a gambling place but a place that will be synonymous to culture when the theatre opens a few months later and a place that will really give the message to all Europeans and to the world that the big gates to tourism are again open to Lebanon."
SUPER CAPTION: Nicholas Crabtree Vice President of Gaming

The privately-owned casino's revival began three years ago and has cost about 30 (m) million U-S dollars.

It already has four gambling halls, four restaurants and a night-club.

The resort is expected to attract 3 (m) million people each year when it is completely finished in the year 2000.

Its owners hope it will soon mirror its past glory days of the sixties.

Then, the casino was renowned among gamblers and a favourite haunt of celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The casino is one of the most established casinos in the world, I might add, and has a reputation second only to Monte Carlo and some say equal to Monte Carlo. So security in this country was not a great concern of ours, we were more than proud to come here and do the management role in the casino and try and re-establish the casino to the levels it once had."
SUPER CAPTION: Antoine Vanagor Vice President of Casino Du Liban

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We all know that for over 30 years the Casino du Liban was synonymous with the very best in gaming and entertainment anywhere in the Middle East and we are certainly hoping it will become so again."
SUPER CAPTION: Marilyn D Eden, Casino du Liban

The casino is being promoted as a symbol of Lebanon's phoenix-like revival and is part of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's multimillion-dollar program to rebuild the country.

But many in the country won't be affected.

A third of Lebanon's 3 (m) million population live below the poverty line according to the United Nations.

Many of those doubt the casino's reopening will be much of a money-spinner for them.

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