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The Moscow Times Moscow Guide – Winter 2008

Since the middle of autumn one of the most important topics of discussion, could only be … no, not the financial crisis… New Year! The winter issue of The Moscow Times Moscow Guide is entirely devoted to New Years celebrations. Seven great ideas for celebrating the “Night of Nights” will help readers finalise their plans and choose how and where to party, give fresh ideas and lots of practical advice.

And don’t forget – problems will come by themselves, but happiness and luck need an invitation. That why the more cheerful and light-hearted your celebration of the coming holiday is, the happier and more successful 2009 will be for you.

The Crisis: Signs of a Kremlin Fearful Of Unrest
Sociologist Yevgeny Gontmakher has painted a disturbing picture of what might emerge from the financial crisis, forecasting continued unemployment, huge protests and spreading violence.

Market Matters: Huge Grain Harvest No Boon for Farmers
This year Russia is enjoying the biggest grain harvest it has ever seen -- and farmers couldn't be more worried.



Thursday, January 08, 2009 Updated at 31 December 2008 22:36 Moscow Time.

The Moscow Times » Issue 3846 » Consumer News

Maria Antonova / MT

Yelena Zemskova has a degree in physics but prefers working in a casino.

First Person

20 February 2008Yelena Zemskova, shift manager, New York casino

I started working at a casino in 1993, when I was a still a student and needed a part-time job. When I was in school, I moved around a lot with my parents; then I came to Moscow to study physics. Someone told me that I knew nothing about physics, so just to prove them wrong, I studied hard and passed the exams. I finished my physics degree but never went back to science.

First, I worked as a dealer; in the '90s, that was sometimes a wild experience. Dealers just have to pay attention to their own tables; they don't know what goes on in other parts of the casino. I am now the shift manager, which means that for eight hours, I am responsible for everything that happens on the casino floor. I have to deal with guests and with employees.

Things are different now: People come to the casino for the atmosphere more than anything else. Some of them don't even play, but they enjoy sitting in the restaurant or socializing with their friends. People come here for the level of service. Atmosphere is what we primarily provide. We don't let people with gambling problems in; if a person is not here to have a good time, we tell him that he needs to get help.

I think working in a casino suits my personality. If they close them down, I will probably go work abroad, where there is a casino culture.

The hardest part of working here is that work takes time away from being with family. There are shifts that start at midnight, 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.