What happened, Slobodan, was that this neat "socialist" development was more than the market could bear...
That's the paradox I am questioning, Russ. Croatia was (and I assume still is) a prosperous tourist region, large and attractive enough to sustain an opulent casino like this.
... had the market been free from the beginning, would any private entrepreneur have been dumb enough to sink money into a development like this...
But apparently, the was one "dumb enough" to buy it? Or maybe there wasn't "one." Maybe the privatization meant vouchers distributed to hotel employees: "Here you go, you are now a proud owner of 1/xxxx of the hotel... go ahead, take good care of it." If so, it would not be much different than before, as in the workers self-management system existing in former Yugoslavia, employees were already in that position.
On the other hand, you make it sound as if dumb investment mistakes are only made in socialism. I can show you dozens of those just in my vicinity (here, in the States, "the freest market on Earth").
Oh, almost forgot... according to Tom's description on Flickr, the casino was "
paid for by Penthouse founder Bob Guccione."
Oohhh... I'm so glad you're back with us.
Don't tell me you had no one to argue with?