Israel to launch world's first airborne casinoBy Ha'aretz ServiceAccording to reports, Israel's airborne casino will be on a Boeing 747. (Photo: Ha'aretz Archives) Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh recently announced that Israel is to launch a casino in the air. According to the daily newspaper Ma'ariv, the casino will be on board a Boeing 747 that will take off from Ben-Gurion International Airport three times daily, leave Israeli airspace and land four hours later. The paper states that the project will cost $20-30 million. Sneh told Israel Radio on Monday that there was no real difference between a casino on a plane and those on the boats that used to sail from Eilat into international waters before opening. Sneh said that many Israelis gambled and that it was preferable for Israel to allow places such as Mitzpeh Ramon, Yerucham, Eilat and others to build casinos legally even along the lines of the national lottery, whose proceeds go to the state. If Israel decided against this, he said, people would use the casino in Jericho operated by the Palestinian Authority and some would travel to Europe and other places where gambling is legalized, and a large number of the public would continue to visit illegal casinos in Israel. Joe Pries Commercial Aviation Photography Serving the airline industry with quality photography AOL IM AIRLINE72 http://www.joepries.com --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup