Djibouti is a small, dirt-poor country in the Horn of Africa and as
such, you wouldn't expect the list of Djibouti's casinos to be very
long. You would be right in such a speculation for the list of
Djibouti's casinos is indeed short, totaling precisely one.
It is the Grand Casino de Djibouti and Sheraton Hotel, in the capital of
the country, also called Djibouti. As the city, the county (or
administrative area perhaps), and country are all called Djibouti, this
means that the only one of Djibouti's casinos thus has the unlikely
address of Plateau de Serpent, Djibouti, Djibouti, Djibouti. Not all
that important we know, but then it is interesting, don't you think? As
is right for such a powerhouse in the world's listings of casinos, the
Grand has two roulette tables, two blackjack ,and some 40 slot machines
of various types.
The reality that Djibouti is unlikely to add to this list much in the
near term seems a reasonable bet in and of itself. The country has
recently finished a civil war between the two major tribes, the Afars
and the Issas (originally a French colony, before being named French
Somaliland it was known as the Land of the Afars and the Issas). The
young men of each of the Afars were supposed to mark their entry into
adulthood by killing one of the Issas, much as the Masai were expected
to kill a lion. Given that their close ethnic kin inhabit the rest of
Somalia, this might help to explain the problems the Americans had with
their aid mission there.)
In common with other places ruled by military strongmen, whoever manages
to get the most guns together to take over the State, the place is an
economic mess. An unemployment rate of near 50% and near general
destitution of the entire populace means that any list of Djibouti's
casinos is unlikely to expand any time soon. Two thirds of the
population live in the capital city or just near it; almost everyone
else being nomadic herders. The one casino that does exist is more a
place where those very few who control the country can go to show off,
rather than anything that we would regard as an interesting casino to
visit.
In fact, given that the economy has shrunk per capita by 35 % in recent
years, both as a result of that civil war and the other wars going on in
surrounding countries (the collapse of Somalia, the war between
Ethiopia and Eritrea, the ongoing civil wars in Sudan), it's actually a
little surprising that the list of Djibouti's casinos is as long as it
is.
