News that popular Greek singer Elli Kokkinou accepted a reportedly lucrative business proposal to appear at a Skopje casino, while she was posting photos on her Instagram at the large pro-Macedonia rally in Athens at Syntagma Square has caused an outcry. According to reports, she agreed to make a single appearance at a casino in Skopje, the capital of FYROM for an undisclosed, yet reportedly a huge, sum of money.

The appearance of the popular singer at the Flamingo casino is scheduled for March 17 and promotional and marketing material announcing her show has been posted to the casino’s website, where highlights of other Greek artists who have also appeared there in the past can also be seen, like Peggy Zina, Anna Vissi, Themis Adamantidis, Glykeria etc.

It is a known fact that business owners of casinos in Skopje regularly invite famous Greek artists as main attractions to their operations in an effort to lure in Greek gamblers. According to estimates, a little over half a million Greeks travel to Skopje casinos each year and gamble 60 million euros.

It stands to reason that Greek singers are rewarded with extravagant rates. However, only minimal sums show up in the official private contracts they sign with the business owners in Skopje. It seems a little, or in this case, a huge, amount of cash can bend someone’s patriotic resolve….