Thursday, July 2, 2009

Russians & Mormons switching identities??

If you like drinking and gambling (and who doesn't?), then you might want to consider a vacation in Utah instead of Russia.

"What?", you say. Utah (the land of the Mormons, where even Coke and Folgers have to be sold on the black market) is now a better location for getting your vice on than Russia (the land of Vodka, Roulette, and thousands of shady casinos)??

Well, maybe not entirely. But after yesterday we're certainly headed in that direction.

According to the AP, the Russian government (so....Putin) has officially closed all casinos, slot machine parlors, and betting halls across the entire nation, except for four remote locations that are far from Moscow and other major population centers.

The worst part is that the government has essentially put 400,000 of their own people out of work (and in the middle of a worsening national economic crisis) in the name of morality, or something.

My favorite part is that the article basically acknowledges that this law was Putin's idea and that it has very little support with the Russian people.


Meanwhile...In Utah. The state ditched a 40-year old law that required people to fill out an application, pay a fee, and become a member of a private club before they were allowed to set foot in a bar. That such a law even existed in the first place is hard to believe, but now that its gone, the people of the Beehive State (yep, the Beehive State) can stroll into any local watering hole and enjoy whatever it is that bars in Utah sell.

And soon, Utah might take another step towards what they are calling "normalization of alcohol policy. As of right now, there is a law (referred to as the "Zion Curtain") that prohibits bartenders from handing drinks directly to patrons at restaurants and bars. Instead, they must walk out from behind the bar in order to deliver the booze.

It makes Pennsylvania's liquor laws look absolutely liberal.

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