Vietnamese gamble on Cambodian town Border town casinos show gap
between Vietnam's rich and poor since economic reforms
Makoto Ota Yomiuri ****mbun Correspondent
The crowds of Vietnamese trying their luck at the casinos that have
sprung up in the southeastern border town of Bavet are a tangible
example of the widening social divisions in their home country.
While some of the people crossing the border for the casinos in
Cambodia (gambling is illegal in Vietnam) are betting millions of
dollars, others stay there for the free food-- a mixture of haves and
have-nots that has become more evident since Vietnam introduced its
"doi moi" policies of economic liberalization in the 1980s.
Seven years ago, Bavet, an hour by car from Ho Chi Minh City, was
surrounded by rice paddies. But it now has seven casinos, and is
illuminated round-the-clock by neon lights.
A man from Ho Chi Minh City, identifying himself as Quon, was playing
baccarat at a table lit by chandeliers.
"I never keep track of how much I bet," he said as he placed another
500 dollars bet after having just lost 500 dollars. "Probably several
thousand dollars a day," the 45-year-old Quon said.
More than 90 percent of the 7,000 visitors the casinos receive each
day are Vietnamese. Food and drink is free, while complimentary
accommodation is available next door for those placing a certain
amount in bets.
The average monthly income in Vietnam is about 150 dollars, though
some of the guests clearly earn far more than this. The 32-year-old
Vietnamese assistant manager of the Le Macau casino, the oldest casino
in the area, said: "Betting tens of thousands of dollars is nothing
special here. I know one customer who spent 2 million dollars."
The casinos have benefited from the money flowing out of Ho Chi Minh
City.
"I made a fortune thanks to my connections with the [Vietnamese]
government," one patron said. "I bought some real estate after
obtaining some useful information and sold it on. With the surging
property market, I knew I'd make money."
As there is no private land owner****p in Vietnam, trade in land-use
rights is roaring, creating a housing bubble in the country.
The *****sed value of the land per square meter in front of the Ben
Thanh Market, in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, was 200,000 dollars,
or 21.7 million yen, in 2006--more than the 19 million yen the same-
sized piece of land would cost in Tokyo's ritzy Ginza 2-chome.
But while some Vietnamese have benefited from the emerging market
economy, many have been left behind, and have even abandoned their
hometowns altogether for Bavet.
A 50-year-old man identifying himself as Tieng came to Bavet with his
wife from the southern province of Tay Ninh in Vietnam eight months
ago. Tieng said that back home he worked irregularly as a day-laborer,
earning about 37 dollars in a good month.
But he said that he now earns enough to make a reasonable living
through gambling, having three meals a day at the casinos and sleeping
on a sofa.
"I can earn 10 dollars a day," Tieng said. "Everything I earn is
profit, because we don't need to pay for food."
Tieng said about 20 Vietnamese have left their hometown because of
poverty and settled in the casinos, adding the number of "settlers"
has been growing as rumors of easy money spread.
Income disparities in Vietnam have been widening steadily under the
doi moi policy. According to statistics from the United Nations, 29.9
percent of the gross national income is held by rich people, who
account for just 10 percent of the population.
The figure is comparable to that in China, a country facing its own
problems with inequality, where about 33 percent of the country's
wealth is held by the rich.
(Feb. 2, 2008)
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