Nudity, Gambling Problems at Vietnamese O.C. Cafés

You may be familiar with the typical scene these days at a Starbucks with a wifi hotspot: People with laptops and pad computers, typically men, camped out at tables for prolonged periods with their coffee drinks, working intently on a spreadsheet, a marketing presentation, or responding to a slew of emails. Down in the Vietnamese coffee houses of Orange County, the scene is just a little different. There the café patrons are all men; and up until recently some of them were actually doing businessman-type business. But a lot more of them were having fun gambling using rigged video games and enjoying the company of waitresses who wore very little clothing. Or in some cases no clothing at all. At the link, you’ll learn how the gambling and nudity in these Vietnamese joints has gotten beyond what Orange County authorities find acceptable, and what certain cities, most notably Garden Grove, are doing to clamp down on the questionable and illegal activities. But local cops and government officials do have their hands full. The O.C. is home to the largest population of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States. There are quite a few cafés and coffee houses set up all over the county. And it will be interesting to see how the Vietnamese coffee house businesses figure out how to make up for the revenue many have reportedly lost since the police clampdown on nudity and illegal roulette and blackjack began in earnest last March. (Japan Today – Gambling and Nudity With Your Coffee?)