Just this week I was walking by one of the main streets of Tirana when I noticed a weird site! A casino, located at the cross-road of Rr. E Dibers & Rr. E Barrikadave, had closed its doors! Needless to say that it “almost” broke my heart. It had been there for several years and now it was closed.
Poor countries and weakening economies tend to have a positive effect on the growth of gambling, where Albania is a prime example. The number of casinos in the city of Tirana is rivaled only by the number of public urinals (of which there are none, but any dark and dirty corner does the job) preferably in densely populated areas and cross-roads.
The municipality is trying to get them off the city and positing them in pre-determined areas in the periphery of the city, but such attempts seem futile when faced with the political and financial power that such “organizations” have.
