Shangri La maybe a slightly ironic name for casino, if you consider that it is taken from the fictional lamasery of James Hilton's 'Lost Horizon', where Hugh Conway finds inner peace by living the life of an ascetic monk. But this is Moscow - not Tibet - and Muscovites find heaven on earth by indulging in every guilty pleasure, rather than denying themselves them. As pleasures go, gambling is a strangely addictive one. After all, what can beat the thrill of staking your entire savings, passport, mortgage, car and eldest child on the roll of a dice...?
| |
