"It's Just the Luck of the Draw, Baby, the Natural Law."

Images that enter our eyes do so upside down.

It is, thereby, up to the brain to sort things out. What we know to be true is that, for the most part, the brain then turns things right side up. The two go on to form an impressive partnership that allows most of us to stay alive (hot stoves bad, smiling babies good.)

Occasionally, our brain cannot make sense of what our eyes are seeing - it can find no experiential context. This happened to me occasionally in Vietnam. My brain had a tough time knowing where to put a pile of dead bodies or a 122mm rocket incoming at close to the speed of sound.

Such a happenstance occurred to me again about ten years ago while driving through the Connecticut countryside. I was lost, late for a meeting, while on a beautiful stone wall-lined New England back road that was going nowhere. Then, all of a sudden, I came around a bend and - whoa! - There was Oz...No, Xanadu...no Oz and Xanadu in one.

What I was seeing for the first time was the Foxwoods Casino – now the largest single gaming facility on the planet. It was so enormous, so completely misplaced, and out of context that I could do little but pull over to the side of the road and gape.

Gambling. Wow!

I'd been to Las Vegas years ago and ogled at what I thought was a well regulated local phenomenon. I have a vivid recollection of older normal looking people dropping money without restraint at all imaginable venues. It was sort of cool, but mostly scary - particularly the scale of it. I knew that politicians hoped that gambling would save decaying Atlantic City. Most states had by now begun to rely on lotteries to augment revenue. I knew that Native Americans were using loopholes to build casinos on their land with little concern about local laws, regulations and, obviously, community standards.

But this? My eyes were blinded on that October morning in 1997. Foxwoods was beyond all imagination. I understood that if this could be happening in Ledyard, Connecticut, it could be happening anywhere.

And it is.

Yesterday I visited the former Portuguese colony of Macao, an hour south of Hong Kong by jet ferry. The guide books say it is a good one day trip to see several worthy historic sights and dine on Portuguese cuisine. I knew that gambling was legal in Macao as was prostitution. I knew they also had an annual Formula One automobile race. The idea of it all seemed sort of James Bond-sy.

Macao was both the oldest and the last European colony in China. It was settled by Portuguese traders in the 16th century and returned to China in 1999 - two years after Hong Kong. Like its neighbor to the north, Macao enjoys the political status of a Special Administrative Region. What this means, in both cases, is that anything anybody wants to do to make loads of money for China is O.K.

For Hong Kong? International finance.

For Macao? Gambling

Prior to turnover, Macao gambling was tightly controlled by Stanley Ho to his enormous benefit. Ho kept things in check. Revenue poured into him and growth was modest. After turnover, the Chinese felt that the only way to break Ho's hammerlock was to open Macao gaming to international competition. Since then, all hell has broken loose.

There are 34 casinos in Macao. Enormous new palaces by the giant American gaming companies such as MGM Grand, Steve Wyn, and the Sands have sprung up almost overnight. There are at least 8 more under construction by my count. Like Las Vegas, each is trying to outdo the other in scale and perceived opulence. Huge areas of the old colonial city have evaporated as massive casino construction abounds. As with my first sight of the Foxwoods Casino a decade ago, there was little for me to do during my day-long visit than simply walk around and gape. Busload after busload of Chinese tourists poured in forming an endless stream that no doubt continued day and night. There was no integration with the old Macao, architecturally or otherwise. The whole place had had the look and feel of a mad, greedy, pathetic free-for-all.

I read the papers. Banks are in trouble, the world financial system is teetering, and credit is tight. There appears, however, to be no shortage of cash for casino construction in Macao and no shortage of people to fill them when they are completed. I suspect the situation is the same the world over.

You may want to take another look at that little innocent town down the street from you that you just found out was largely owned by a long forgotten Indian tribe. You may also want to take another look at your own town council or state government. It can happen in a heartbeat.

Strapped localities need cash. Gambling is a simple solution.

Ledyard, Connecticut

Macao, China

The power and appeal are enormous.

Like global warming, the trend will not be reversed in our lifetimes or those of our children

Thank you for visiting

Jack