There are reports that Hawaii, the offshore US state in the Pacific Ocean (and birthplace of the new US president Barack Obama) is thinking about legalising casinos.
The news needn’t give Macau casino executives too many sleepless nights. The distance from Shanghai to Honolulu is 4,950 miles according to WikiAnswers.com, rendering the journey uncomfortable, inconvenient and expensive enough to put off all but the most dedicated Chinese gamblers.
According to the Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii and Utah are the only US states with no legalised games of chance. This is not to say they don’t have gambling—just that it’s illegal. The newspaper describes Hawaii’s onshore sports betting market as “barely underground”.
If globalisation proves anything, it’s that human beings have more in common than appearances might suggest.
