I know this CPA who has more initials after his name than is apparent in his full address, city and state included. I mean, it goes on and on and on…and he isn't happy.
"I need to do more with my career. Financial planning, wealth management, retirement planning, estate planning generally. I need something more sexy."
Okay, then, how about some financial planning on the roulette wheel? The guy is now interested.
The Philippines may be the first country in the world to offer a degree in blackjack and roulette. That's right. According to Efraim Genuino (I didn't make him up), who heads the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., it would be a baccalaureate degree. "It'll probably be a Bachelor of Science in Gaming Management, or something like that, so we can professionalize it."
Can you imagine? Sure, why not? This gaming group has been training gambling staff for in-house work for the past 20 years and apparently, says company officials, they have the expertise to produce gambling graduates.
Oh, there goes my friend Otto. He's already booking a flight to Manila. The man loves the tables and now he can add a business degree that he secured somewhere back in the 18th century with a degree in gambling. His life is complete.
Of course, this could have repercussions in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Biloxi. Fistfights could break out among the various gamblers and staff as to who had the credentials to do what.
This proposal is right now before the various Philippine authorities but if approval is granted, then the academy will offer courses in various gaming skills for table supervisors covering such games as blackjack, poker, and roulette.
Why are they doing this? You think I know? Genuino says he hoped that any graduates of the academy would help the Philippine economy by working overseas. How does he figure this out? Well, he points out that some 7.5 million Filipinos work abroad and the money they send home is a major source of income for many families. Talk about a financial plan. The entire country is involved.
Naturally, there are pitfalls here. Already, neighboring countries Laos and Myanmar are expressing interest in the course. This could spread. It may become an epidemic and I can see the results down the road. Not only will Harvard offer pre-med, pre-law, biological science, and the ever-present art history course that gets you no job, but now it will offer a Bachelor of Science in Gaming Management. Now, I ask you, a degree from Harvard? Wouldn't you like that on your resume? Just put it down. B.S. from Harvard. And you needn't say in what, right?
