The minimum age of casino entrants should be 30, and they should be able to prove a minimum monthly salary of Bt300,000. He said they should also pay a high cover charge for each visit.

Oh really??? What portion of Thailand's workforce earns $9000 U.S. per month in salary, or about $108,000 per year?

For that matter, what portion of the current tourist visitor arrivals to Thailand earn $9000 a month?

It kind of begins to sound like a Thaksin Thailand elite scheme all over again, just in a different guise.

And we all know how well that did in attracting rich tourists to Thailand.

Or, perhaps, in the end, they'll just open the casinos to anyone who has two pennies to rub together, and all this minimum income stuff is just a political/cultural smokescreen.

I wonder if it was a misquote and that the minimum salary is Bt300,000 per year (not per month)

"Thaksin Shinawatra ... In November 2002, the PM met with the chairman of MGM Mirage, the leading casino corporation in America, about possible investment in Thailand."

Nah, he's not really a Wall Street proxy. He's just darn good at pretending he is.

Ramedindallas probably hasn't been to Vegas recently. I knew there was a lot to do besides gambling when I was there a few years ago and there is even more now. Quick google found concerts by at least a dozen singers, 8 musicals, a dozen magic shows, 5 different Cirque du Soleil shows, plus numerous other shows and events that I don't have time to highlight here. Every major casino also has its own non-casino attractions. Obviously, people go to vegas to gamble but there are a lot of other attractions, as well, and the people going to vegas aren't just gambling--otherwise all these shows, etc. wouldn't have customers. Pattaya could learn a lot by studying how vegas turned itself from just a gambling destination to much, much more. Pattaya could do sort of a reverse Vegas and start with a casino and then add some other attractions like an amusement park on the beach, concert/musical halls, London 'eye' type ferris wheel, and so on.

casinos are none of the police chief business. It is the business of an elected government.

Hope Thaiand learns from Singapore..local residents must pay annual

Fee of approx B40,000. To enter casino, Prevents the poor from

Wasting needed money for family and food on casino gambling, also

Seems to limit some gambling related crimes. Foreigners and

Visitors are all welcome, just show passport WE WANT YOUR

MONEY....THEY GET LOTS,OF IT TOO