HONG KONG - The other day, the Wall Street Journal reported about the comeback of ‘mah-jongg’ in New York. But the same journal also concludes that in Hong Kong, in the home country of the game, mahjong is anything but cool.

In an article about mahjong parlors in Hong Kong, a club manager is quoted who claims that “most of the time, we get office ladies or tai tais (married women) who come and play at the end of the day from 6 p.m. until 2 in the morning.”

“There are some younger kids who play mahjong, but it’s not seen as something posh more so than seedy. It is gambling, after all.”

Another manager claims that the problem with mahjong is the huge investment of time it requires. “A proper mah-jongg game can last eight hours or a whole day. It works on a point system, and you can’t just pull out after one round of games.”

Read the full article in WSJ Online