The only logical step for the Thai govt to take is to legalize gambling.  This will keep the masses entertained and hopeful while the rich get richer.  The destruction of families and meager savings of regular people has never been something to stop the rich from accumulating more wealth.  That has never been a concern, so of course gambling will be legalized in Thailand.  The right people will get rich off of it.

The go-ahead will be a near certinty with the Chairman of the special committee emphasizing the "extensive nature of the study, which could lead to substantial revenue generation for the country."

Or more to the point .... will lead to big $$$ generation for the government and elites associated with it.

IMHO other considerations mentioned by members of this forum either were not considered at all or overridden by the prospect of big money raining down on a select few.

Thailand has an extremely large peasant class and those are the people most prone to short term thinking and getting scammed. I agree debt and gambling are serious problems that affect Thailand. Hating on them is pointless and cruel though, they need serious help.

 

Yes I know many Thai people in general are affected by this too so it's extends in to the middle classes also.

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

What proportion of Thai people fit the criteria you describe? Put up some statistics before you start calling my post nonsense.

 

I don't doubt there are some Thais who are well travelled, and competent. My car mechanic is one of them.

 

I have not been in a bar for about 8 years. I suggest you get out of whatever ivory tower you lay your hat in, and travel to the real Thailand.

 

Such as my GF's village, where the average wage is 3000 baht/month.

A lot of people on this forum live in Bangkok. Have you been in garages of even middle class Bangkok condos? Have you gone to any mall on let's say a Tuesday afternoon? Have you seen the cars there? It's almost unreal the display of cars costing $200,000USD and more $.  It's quite easy for someone in Bangkok , like myself to know dozens of educated rich Thais. So the proportion of wealthy Thais is quite high here. Your statistic of your GF village is anecdotal as well. Why do you think the real Thailand is some crappy village? You can also meet and get to know some real Thais in a bar time to time too. So eight years away from them really doesn't make someone an expert in anything. Cheers 

It's just a blessing that Thailand doesn't have scratch lottery tickets. It would be a disaster!! 

19 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

A lot of people on this forum live in Bangkok. Have you been in garages of even middle class Bangkok condos? Have you gone to any mall on let's say a Tuesday afternoon? Have you seen the cars there? It's almost unreal the display of cars costing $200,000USD and more $.  It's quite easy for someone in Bangkok , like myself to know dozens of educated rich Thais. So the proportion of wealthy Thais is quite high here. Your statistic of your GF village is anecdotal as well. Why do you think the real Thailand is some crappy village? You can also meet and get to know some real Thais in a bar time to time too. So eight years away from them really doesn't make someone an expert in anything. Cheers 

You must be joking right, 80% of all condos as well super cars belong to very few. Most with a normal car have 20-30 year loans on them, same for the condo, while the car and property wont even last that long without further injections.

 

Oh ok, but a few million out of like 70 million do ok, we should focus on that… That is some stereotype thai ignorance lol.

Edited March 14, 20242 yr by ChaiyaTH

A comment on moderation has been removed.

18 hours ago, NONG CHOK said:

Unless you married into a Thai family you probably don't really understand my question. It all stems from the Government lottery. So they go through all their mumbo jumbo. Buddhist crap, fortune tellers etc. So now they know the lucky numbers. Unfortunately they are total losers, maybe a consolation prize here and there. Come the next draw they need cash which they haven't got. So they get loans from anybody who will listen to them. My step daughter owes maybe 2 million baht to people with no chance of paying it back. She's changes where she lives at least every month, then she's on the bite again. My sister in law lost her home in Pattaya using her property to get a loan to gamble. Of course she lost the lot. Thankfully my wife is very tight with money and probably buys 5-6 lottery tickets per year. If Thailand ever get casinos there's going to be serious consequences. I've owned racehorses and greyhounds for the past 50 years. I always bet with my money and in moderation,.

hardly indicative of the entire population. seems you have married into quality 

28 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

A lot of people on this forum live in Bangkok. Have you been in garages of even middle class Bangkok condos? Have you gone to any mall on let's say a Tuesday afternoon? Have you seen the cars there? It's almost unreal the display of cars costing $200,000USD and more $.  It's quite easy for someone in Bangkok , like myself to know dozens of educated rich Thais. So the proportion of wealthy Thais is quite high here. Your statistic of your GF village is anecdotal as well. Why do you think the real Thailand is some crappy village? You can also meet and get to know some real Thais in a bar time to time too. So eight years away from them really doesn't make someone an expert in anything. Cheers 

I would not live in Bangkok if you paid me to do so. Expensive, polluted, hot. To me, it's the drain hole of Thailand, 1 metre above sea level. Unless the Thais take a leaf out of the Dutch playbook, it will be gone in 50 years.

You presumably have no knowledge of how many of the expensive vehicles you see are paid for in full, and how many are deep in debt because their owners want to keep up appearances.

The real Thailand is probably 68 million people, with 3 million people living in affluence. That's just a guess, post some information from an authoritative source if you can find some to contradict me.

I didn't get to see places such as Phu Chi Fa, the House of Opium, Chiang Saen Skywalk, Doi Inthanon, Phayao lake, San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan or Chiang Mai Erotic Gardens by sitting on my bum in a bar.

Saying Bangkok is representative of Thai society is like saying the Galleria in Houston is a microcosm of the Texas population.

I don't claim to be an expert in anything. I call it as I see it.

 

 

32 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

didn't get to see places such as Phu Chi Fa, the House of Opium, Chiang Saen Skywalk, Doi Inthanon, Phayao lake, San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan or Chiang Mai Erotic Gardens by sitting on

Is Phu Chi Fa much good? I enjoy Bangkok for like 3 or 4 days then it's time to leave. Really Bangkok is great from 6pm to 1pm. It's not a day city.

"Seriously How Gullible Are Thai People?"

 

I can't take you seriously because of the way you started off your sentence/question with the word 'seriously'. Do you also use words like 'dude' and 'bro'?

7 hours ago, thesetat said:

would help the government but hurt so many Thais and foreigners financially. I dread when this would happen. The repercussions would be far reaching. 

It's very bad in the UK these days too. Perhaps it always was.

A generalisation I know, but it seems people without money believe that gambling will quickly win them a fortune. A few wins to get them hooked then mostly losses with an occasional  win of far less than already lost. It's downhill all way for them, not for whatever set up is taking their bets and money...ever.

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I would not live in Bangkok if you paid me to do so. Expensive, polluted, hot. To me, it's the drain hole of Thailand, 1 metre above sea level. Unless the Thais take a leaf out of the Dutch playbook, it will be gone in 50 years.

You presumably have no knowledge of how many of the expensive vehicles you see are paid for in full, and how many are deep in debt because their owners want to keep up appearances.

The real Thailand is probably 68 million people, with 3 million people living in affluence. That's just a guess, post some information from an authoritative source if you can find some to contradict me.

I didn't get to see places such as Phu Chi Fa, the House of Opium, Chiang Saen Skywalk, Doi Inthanon, Phayao lake, San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan or Chiang Mai Erotic Gardens by sitting on my bum in a bar.

Saying Bangkok is representative of Thai society is like saying the Galleria in Houston is a microcosm of the Texas population.

I don't claim to be an expert in anything. I call it as I see it.

 

 

They aren't keeping up appearances in 7,000,000 baht cars like the guy in the village you live with 1,000,000 baht car. A lot of THEM are struggling. You keep ragging on bars. Maybe you should go to Thong Lor or other areas and have nice educated conversations. Going out for a drink once a week doesn't limit my travels in Thailand. I'd argue Bangkok is the best base to reach all the great places there are. Bangkok is truly the melting pot of Thailand. People from all provinces live and work and play here. 

It isn't as much a question of gullible as it is the love of gambling. Way back in the day the Thai people came from South West China and it is no secret that the Chinese will place a bet on anything.

1 hour ago, alex8912 said:

They aren't keeping up appearances in 7,000,000 baht cars like the guy in the village you live with 1,000,000 baht car. A lot of THEM are struggling. You keep ragging on bars. Maybe you should go to Thong Lor or other areas and have nice educated conversations. Going out for a drink once a week doesn't limit my travels in Thailand. I'd argue Bangkok is the best base to reach all the great places there are. Bangkok is truly the melting pot of Thailand. People from all provinces live and work and play here. 

If you are happy in Bangkok, good for you.

I'm happy where I am. When it comes to a choice between living in a city of 11 million people, and half a million, it's a no brainer, especially as it is a cooler climate.

You are making an unverifiable statement. It is not possible to say how many 7,000,000 baht cars there are in Thailand, such data is privacy protected.

There are 44 million vehicles registered in Thailand. Nearly 10 million of them are in Bangkok, which explains why the place is a traffic nightmare.

 

I am not sure where you are going with this, except perhaps to imply I am an uneducated hick from the sticks who has not been anywhere. Keep on thinking that if it makes you feel superior.

Edited March 14, 20242 yr by Lacessit

8 hours ago, Dolf said:

Is Phu Chi Fa much good? I enjoy Bangkok for like 3 or 4 days then it's time to leave. Really Bangkok is great from 6pm to 1pm. It's not a day city.

Phu Chi Fa is well off the beaten track, but well worth a day visit. The walk to the top is fairly strenuous, good hiking boots or sneakers with plenty of ankle support are  advisable. Although I did see three monks get up to the top in sandals.

There's a side track about halfway up, which leads to a cairn which denotes the border between Thailand and Laos. Border guards are not necessary, it's a cliff.

Thousands of Thais gather there to camp in January, to watch the sunrise. It is spectacular.

10 hours ago, Crossy said:

A comment on moderation has been removed.

Stay on it, getting rough out there on this one.

18 hours ago, Lacessit said:

If you are happy in Bangkok, good for you.

I'm happy where I am. When it comes to a choice between living in a city of 11 million people, and half a million, it's a no brainer, especially as it is a cooler climate.

You are making an unverifiable statement. It is not possible to say how many 7,000,000 baht cars there are in Thailand, such data is privacy protected.

There are 44 million vehicles registered in Thailand. Nearly 10 million of them are in Bangkok, which explains why the place is a traffic nightmare.

 

I am not sure where you are going with this, except perhaps to imply I am an uneducated hick from the sticks who has not been anywhere. Keep on thinking that if it makes you feel superior.

Oi 

On 3/13/2024 at 8:10 PM, Rampant Rabbit said:

you can say the same about ANY religion, all tripe

But your comment makes you sound offended by the criticism of one particular religion. If they're all tripe why do you need to defend any of them?

Gulliver was Gullible, too.

 

But a lot of people vote for McTrump, which is supposed to be a nation that knows what it's doing........

How Gullible?

 

VERY.

 

The problem is IGNORANCE.

Why don't most people in Thailand just utilize the resources freely available on the internet from MIT????

 

All the information they need is free.

If people understood statistics and probability theory to the level that most freshmen learn this at school, then, maybe they would be less gullible.

 

Also, there is this pervasive and rampant problem with SUPERSTITION and Belief in God/gods, and much more.

 

In the end, it is they, the ignorant who pay...BIG TIME for their ignorance.

And, it's their own fault, just because they are unwilling to read and study.

 

Some people are just plain dumb.

There is no cure for stupidity.

 

 

 

The Lottery Tickets are a tax on the poor, the uneducated, the stupids, and the desperate.

 

This is government at its worst, raising revenue from those who can least afford it.

 

Sad and heartbreaking, and....

CRUEL, too.

 

I have no sympathy for any government that does this, and many governments cannot resist feeding on the most vulnerable in the population.