Palestinian Casino Closes as Violence Intensifies, Paper Says

(Bloomberg) -- The management of the Oasis Casino in Jericho, owned in part by the Palestinian Authority, said they had decided to close the facility as regional violence intensifies and gamblers stay away, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The number of visitors dropped to only a few each day from about 2,500 daily, mostly Israelis, prior to the outbreak of violence on the West Bank and Gaza Strip in late September, said Ilan Pilo, a spokesman for the casino. Palestinians and Israelis traded gunfire at the casino on Monday, news reports said.

Right-wing Israelis have suggested bombing the casino in retaliation for Palestinian attacks on Israelis in order to cut revenues to the Palestinian Authority, the newspaper said.

Casinos Austria International Ltd., which operates casinos in Australia, Canada, Egypt, and Argentina, runs the Jericho casino.

(The Jerusalem Post, 10/31, pg. 1)

Oct/31/2000 2:47 ET