The VIP section of Lebanon’s biggest gambling spot, the Casino du Liban, was closed on Wednesday night because of an unexpected staff shortage.
An Israeli airstrike had hit two houses and killed 18 people just a 15-minute drive to the north earlier in the day, disrupting traffic on the Mediterranean coastal road that the croupiers use to get to work.
The large, hilltop casino that overlooks the majority-Christian port city of Jounieh, north of Beirut, made do with a skeleton staff because a large number of employees decided to stay home.
So too did many of its customers. In the blackjack room, just a handful of portly men in polo shirts threw dollar bills down on blue felt tables.
