“Intourist” and gambling houses: checking high-profile closures (PHOTOS)

In recent days, the media have been stirred up by two rather high-profile decisions. According to one of them, all semi-legal gambling establishments, even those that have been working under the guise of "state lottery", but actually have been conducting gambling business, have to be shut down in a day.

The second decision is from the Transcarpathian District Administrative Court. According to the statement on the official website of the court, the court upheld the claim of the State Emergencies Service of Ukraine Office in Transcarpathian region against the Public Joint Stock Company "Hotel and Tourist Complex "Intourist-Zakarpattya" and imposed response measures in the form of complete shutdown of the said hotel by sealing the entrance and suspending power supply until complete rectification of the violations of the legislation in the field of fire safety.

The text of the said decision can be found in the Unified State Register of Judgments, Case No. 260/1513/19.

So, today the building of the hotel "Intourist-Zakarpattya" should be sealed and without power supply. We have decided to check how the court decision is being enforced and maybe get an official comment from the management of the hotel and tourist complex about the reasons and possible consequences of the court decision, as well as their further actions.

As we’re approaching the "Intourist", we see light in the windows of the rooms. This means that there is power in the building, moreover, occupants are still staying in the rooms. We also saw many of them at the front door.

Inside, it’s all quiet – the hall is illuminated, the Christmas tree is decorated, and the reception staff is working.

However, my request to see the management and get a comment was denied – the director was not in the office, and in general, no one wants to talk with the press at this time. The enployees were quietly discussing the prospects of losing their jobs. But eavesdropping is bad, so I went straight to the exit. From the outside, once famous and even prestigious "Intourist-Zakarpattya" makes a very depressing impression. The whole building needs repair, and not only cosmetic. 

And the windows of several rooms covered with newspapers are just unacceptable…

And only Avetur the bear at the central entrance looks quite attractive.

Now, it is time to check if the gambling halls are closed. No need to go too far – one of them had been renting the premises right there in the "Intourist".

The doors are locked. No one responded to knocking. The windows are covered with advertisements, so it was not possible to find out what the situation was inside. Maybe one has to know some secret signal? A special way of knocking? It’s possible… But I didn’t have that code. Therefore, I had to check some more gambling houses around Koryatovich square. The situation is the same – can’t get inside.

The search for open gambling places brought me to the Shakhta neighborhood. There is one on Rudansky street. However, now it is locked with metal grates.

Did the ban work this time?

We’ll check back in a while…