There mere mention of gambling in Pattaya or anywhere else in Thailand a few years ago would have raised a few eyebrows or even lead to people disassociating themselves with the conversation.
However, it seems that perhaps Thailand could be considering relaxing the laws which currently govern gambling which may open the door to some of the big casino groups from around the world. If the laws were to be relaxed, what better place is there to establish a gambling Mecca than Pattaya?
There are many things that could attract the well known gambling giants to Pattaya. Firstly, as gambling is currently illegal and if the laws were to be relaxed the casinos would be getting the opportunity to venture into a previously untapped market. They would quickly be able to establish themselves as the ‘go to’ places visit especially whilst the concept was still in a ‘new’ phase. As everything would be effectively starting from scratch it is likely that the larger casinos would be offered some incentives to setup in Pattaya so this again would be attractive.
Another important factor and a bonus for the casinos would be the fact that those entering the market early would benefit from most from lower real estate prices which would undoubtedly rise once more casinos opened. Lower real estate prices would obviously reduce these giants exposure to risk and would therefore gift the opportunity to spend more on the internal specifications of the casino itself should they so desire.
The fact that Pattaya would be a new venue in terms of casinos may also appeal to the likes of Wynn and MGM who have seen a downturn in Macau and may see Pattaya as an opportunity to generate more revenue in Asia without it all being concentrated in one city, namely Macau. Spreading risk in times of uncertainty is something that all businesses do this so this may be seen as a perfect opportunity in which to both expand and spread that risk.
A further attraction of Pattaya is the fact that it is already viewed as a party city so their potential concerns about how it will be welcomed will be quelled to some extent. The city is very adept at dealing with nightlife and visitors coming to let their hair down. It already has quality, established hotels, fine restaurants as well as other entertainment for groups who come to the city so this is again makes Pattaya an attractive proposition.
Assuming that the giants of the gambling world did get the reassurances that they would naturally want there is no reason why they wouldn’t want to come to the city. This is turn would be a massive boost for the local economy and result in increased real estate prices across all sectors.
