Pattaya Girls arrested in gambling raid

Three Pattaya girls were arrested during an early morning raid of an illegal poker game at the Encore hotel this week. The raid took place on November 2nd at approximately 2 am. In addition to the three Pattaya girls, eight foreigners were also busted.

Playing cards, chips, and over a million baht were confiscated in the raid. Police were apparently tipped off to the gambling by an informant, possibly a disgruntled loser at poker.

The Pattaya girls that were detained denied that they had been gambling and claimed that they were only present to serve drinks to customers. Nevertheless, the girls were hauled in by police with the rest of the bunch that included several Scandinavians and at least one Israeli.

The poker room at the Encore Hotel has reportedly been active for several months. The ground floor of the hotel houses a popular beer bar as well as hotel reception. The upper floors offer tourist accommodations. Until now it was a well-guarded secret that the second floor housed a casino-style poker room.

The raid at the Encore Hotel comes on the heels of another gambling raid that was conducted just a week ago. On October 26th a group of seven Australians were arrested while playing cards at a private residence on Soi Naklua 23.

The recent raids signal an apparent police crackdown on gambling in Pattaya. The raids were a cooperative effort between the Pattaya and Chonburi Tourist Police. A team of over 20 officers, some in plain clothes, conducted the raid at the Encore Hotel. We are hopeful that the unwitting Pattaya girls will be exonerated.