The temptation of riches

This morning's run was aimed at getting to Coxs Bay for a picture around fog on the bay. However, as I headed along Ponsonby Road (where the fog was almost non existent, especially in comparison with the heavy fog over in Grey Lynn and Westmere), I looked down a side road towards the Sky Tower to be meet with this almost Science Fiction view.

The Sky Tower, tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere when completed (since displaced more than once), is there to draw attention to the Sky City Casino adjacent to it.Many people go there tempted by the false promise of riches. Despite the wish that a casino is selling the winning of money, it is in reality selling the dream. And if someone actually does win something, thats only so that they will come back and lose it.

An Australian colleague was banned from all Australian casinos after they realised that he almost always did win at blackjack. That is not acceptable in their business model.

This casino transfers large sums of money from often poor New Zealanders to a foreign owned company, which then transfers dividends and profits overseas. Smart, huh?