Casinos coming to Thailand? This time it just might happen

[Rocket]

Imho, the two most exciting places on earth…. Las Vegas and Pattaya.

I used to travel twice a year to Vegas when I was working. But switched to Pattaya because hook ups were so easy.
I remember in Vegas, next to the Bible in most hotel rooms, there was also a yellow pages with hundreds of escort adds. Had some real bad experiences with that. Waiting for an Asian man that would never arrive. Or if they did arrive it cost a fortune.
I really think I could have made a living betting sports , especially football and baseball. However the stock market is much better with less stress. Having $10,000 on one game can be very stressful.

Gaybutton you were very lucky to win playing slots. That’s the honey pot for the casinos. If they could they’d fill the parking lots with them. Is that all you played?

[Gaybutton]

Gaybutton you were very lucky to win playing slots.

I've always been lucky playing the slots, even though it is just sheer luck. I'll never forget my first night in Reno. My flight arrived in the wee hours in Reno, but I wasn't a bit tired. I went to the nearly empty at that hour casino right after checking in at the hotel and was going to play the dollar slots up to $50. After a few spins the lights were flashing and the sirens were screaming. Another player came over and said "Hey, not bad at all. Do you know how much you just won?" I had no idea. He said, "The machine will pay you the first thousand dollars. The management will be here to give you the rest." "The REST! How much did I win?" I had won $2500 on a $3 bet. The management even gave me a dinner voucher on top of the money. Thank you Bugsy Siegel . . .

I also liked shooting craps. I learned by going to the downtown casinos where the locals and "old timers" play. I did pretty good at craps.

I never really did very well with Blackjack even though I know the basic strategy. Same with Roulette. I lost much more than I won on Roulette.

For Poker, I usually played Texas Hold 'Em as long as the stakes weren't too high. Never bet more than you can afford to lose.

At a craps table I got into a conversation with the pit boss. I asked him what the craziest thing he ever saw was in the casino. He said he'll tell me about the most recent. One of the janitors decided to try his luck shooting craps. In one sitting he won $800,000. Incredibly, he was right back to being a janitor less than two weeks later. He lost it all. He thought if he could do it once, he could do it again. When he started losing, he would make big bets trying to win it back. Didn't quite work out.

If you can find it, try to get an old The Twilight Zone episode called "The Fever"

[Rocket]

Wow that’s crazy. That janitor should have quit with the $800,000. Then to lose it and go back to his crappy janitor job, I hope he didn’t commit suicide. There’s probably many that have done that.

My first time in a casino in Atlantic City, I won $200 on the giant wheel with a $10 bet. And I won $4,000 on four football games the first time I bet on football. I guess it’s called beginners luck. I really thought I’d be able to quit my job and get rich gambling, probably the same thinking with that janitor. They hook you in.

But sounds like you had fun. Roulette is tough to win, especially if you play the inside numbers. I enjoyed playing the outside red or black on streaks. I’d watch five or six tables and look at the results board. Could play for many hours and break even. The pit bosses didn’t like me.

The casinos have gotten very greedy with roulette now. When you land on green, everyone loses unless you put a chip on it. The Europe style roulette had only one green. Then the American style had two greens, increasing the house odds against the player. In 2017 I saw that Sands in Vegas had introduced three greens! Ridiculous odds. Now it’s common in many casinos.

Also they’re doing something like 6/5 odds with blackjack. Again better for house. A Vegas vacation has gotten much more expensive now. On the strip prices are outrageous. And it’s harder to get good comps. I bet big on sports and they never compt me. If you won all that money again on the slots, instead of comping you they’d maybe say the machine made an error and they can’t pay you,lol.

[Gaybutton]

I really thought I’d be able to quit my job and get rich gambling, probably the same thinking with that janitor. They hook you in.

"Never knew a prospector yet that died rich."
- Walter Huston (Howard), 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'

I believe the same can be said of people who tried to make a living gambling.

[Jun]

I don't care if there's one green or three greens. Participating in any form of gambling that has an expected loss is of zero interest to me.

Speculating or investing in something with an expected gain is far more attractive.

[Dodger]

Casinos = Dept = Loan Sharks = Mafia = Corruption = Violent Crimes = More debt = More Corruption.

What's wrong with this picture

All the while the rich investors (i.e. Chinese and Thai Generals) get richer...the poor get poorer...and the BIB are having a field day.

They can't even fix the plumbing in Pattaya to keep it from flooding let alone build elevated sky trains and sparkly casinos. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in Oz...

[Jun]

They can't even fix the plumbing in Pattaya to keep it from flooding let alone build elevated sky trains and sparkly casinos.

The casinos will be built by big private companies. So, just like the shopping centres, they will be built properly. Note, even in Pattaya, the one place where the pavements are flat & in good condition is on the premises of the big shopping centres.
The bigger risk is turning Pattaya into something like Sihanoukville. Also, if they want to build on a particular plot of land, I suspect the money will ensure they build there, irrespective of what facilities are on that plot at present.

[Gaybutton]

The casinos will be built by big private companies.

There has been plenty of talk about casinos, trams, and monorails for years - plenty of talk - but I have yet to see any actual action on any of them. So, I won't be holding my breath for construction to begin, let alone actually opening.

[Jun]

Well, surely the casinos are purely dependent on legislation ?

If they are legalised, they will get built as unfortunately, the demand is there. You only have to cross the border to Laos or Cambodia & immediately, there are casinos. Usually right next to the border. Or if I remember correctly, even between the Thai & Cambodia customs posts in one case. Also I believe Cambodians aren't allowed in some of their casinos.

I hope casinos remain banned. If they are built, I hope the damn things get built somewhere that I have no interest in visiting anyway.
The worst case scenario is building them in Pattaya & tearing down all the existing infrastructure to cater to the customers. e.g. Building one right where Jomtien Complex is. Pattaya would be a prime location for such a blight, as it's between two airports.

[Gaybutton]

If they are built, I hope the damn things get built somewhere that I have no interest in visiting anyway.

That may be just the way it will be. I remember reading somewhere that if any are built in Pattaya it will be on "The Dark Side" in the vicinity of the sports stadium. There's plenty of flat available land out there.

We'll see. Obviously you don't like casinos, but I do. If they are built and opened, I plan to be there.

Regarding Cambodians not being allowed in the casinos, that is also how it works in the Bahamas. Bahamians are not allowed in the casinos other than as employees - and they are not allowed to gamble.

In Florida the Seminole Indian tribe built casinos. Indians work in them, but I have never seen any of them gambling. I don't know whether that's a rule or simply none happened to be there when I was.

By the way, before anybody starts telling me all about how they should be referred to as Native Americans rather than Indians, NO. When I lived in Florida a tribal reservation was right next to my neighborhood. I got to know several of them. They told me they don't know who came up with the idea of calling them Native Americans, but they don't like it and prefer to be referred to as Indians.

And another by the way - The Seminoles are still technically at war with the USA. The fighting and violence ended many years ago, but no peace treaty never happened. Meanwhile, now because they built their casinos on tribal reservation land, they are not subject to state or federal regulations - and they pay no taxes. They're making a fortune.