I still recall a trip I made to the famed Atlantic City and later to the sin city Las Vegas years ago. I was shocked to see rows and rows of old people sitting at the slot machines with a cigarette or a drink in one hand and the money in the other. It was a huge cultural shock for someone like me who came from a country where old ladies can either be found in kitchens or temples and old gentlemen in pensioners' clubs or gardens. :-)

What reminded me of this was a small article in a newspaper that said how these casinos have garish carpets that help in keeping the gamblers wide awake. It also said that most of them don't have windows so that the gamblers get confused about what time of the day it is! Whatever happened to old-fashioned wrist-watches :-)