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One is free, two is fun, and three is a crowd. What is true of life is true of business also. Put this in another way: too many cooks spoil the broth.
The casino business is no exception.
Once upon a time, a casual entry to a casino was a matter of pride and prestige.
When I was a bumbling teenager, I pestered my climatologist father to use his influence to secure me a job in the premium casino. Of course, the casino manager told my father that I was too young to be working anywhere, let alone a casino.
Miffed, I became a private tutor.
When I told my class fellow about my failed attempt to work in the casino, he turned me into an instant celebrity through his loose tongue, putting pressure on me to walk around with the gravitas of a dignified professional. I thought if I was going to be working in the casino, I must dress and walk around like a grave professional.
It was not easy for ordinary citizens to enter a five-star hotel then, let alone a casino, which I believe the royalties owned.
Later, Dick Tuttle propelled the image of the lone gambling den to the skies over the Indian sub-continent. The casino gave Nepal more value and prestige as a premium holiday destination.
Around the time, there was only one casino, as it was beyond the capacity of the local populace, as were hotels, travels, tours, schools, colleges, hydros, banks and hospitals.
However, post-deposition of king Gyanendra in mid-2000, every second Nepali, especially with ties to political companies, started dreaming of casinos, hotels, hydros, hospitals, schools, colleges, airlines, banks, pharmacies, sand, stones, cement, land, caterpillar fungus, gold and everything under the sky.
Indoctrinated casino union staff seemed to be at the forefront of the burgeoning casino industry. It seems they sided at first with an Indian accountant to yank control of Casino Nepal's majority interest from the hands of Dick Tuttle, the uncrowned casino king. The new Indian casino prince fled the country with unpaid bills, including staff salaries, leaving the entire field to politicians, union bosses and other aspirants to reap riches from the gambling business. People imagined the casino business as simple as growing corn.
Aspiring entrepreneurs should stick to their turf rather than venturing into the unknown.
Entrepreneurial adventure in Nepal is fraught with risk. Years ago, I counselled a Malaysia-returned chef to stick to cooking, but he wanted to be a hotelier. The man tried to offload his burden in vain. A guide visited me several times, mostly at odd hours, seeking redemption from his collective hotel ordeal. Finally, he found his emancipation at a loss.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 10, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
