Authorities in Kazakhstan say they are talking with investors about building a gambling and entertainment complex near the commercial capital, Almaty. President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had long thought of building a sort of Las Vegas on the vast empty steppe outside the city. Officials say a new complex would help to control the growth of casinos and gambling in Almaty itself. Kazak authorities have long been uneasy about gambling growth in major cities. Almaty residents fret about the effects on children, or about old people pouring their pensions into slot machines. Almaty now has nearly 40 casinos. Their colourful neon lights make some of the most impressive displays in a city which has been transformed in recent years. But President Nazarbayev has said he wants to move the casinos and the hundreds of smaller gambling businesses out of the city entirely, to the shores of Lake Kapchagai, a huge reservoir 80km (50 miles) away. (BBC)