Inside Asian Gaming

August 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 33 gaming establishments in Yangon issue tokens that are exchanged for vouchers that can be converted by independent agents for cash at a discount to face value. According to Danny Too, vice president of marketing at Taiwan-based gaming machine supplier Jumbo Technology, the basic token costs 100 kyat, which is worth roughly US$0.10. Each token has five credits. At roulette, he says, the minimum bet is one token while the maximum is 1,500 credits, or roughly $150. The amusement centers have custom- built and -programed machines to print the credits receipts. Although these receipts could easily be forged, there does not seem to bemuch concern for security. After years of military rule, crime in the country is low. Gold shops near the gaming halls, for example, openly display their wares behind regular glass and without the benefit of guards. The amusement centers don’t seem to fear theft or the authorities. They hide in plain sight. One is above a food court right downtown. Others are in office and commercial buildings. Many are located in and around Yangon’s colorful and sizable Chinatown. The names of the centers are fairly vague and do not suggest gaming: Avatar, Alibaba, Ever Happy, City Center, Fun World and Happy Valley. The word “amusement” is invariably mentioned somewhere on their signage. The Andaman Seas and the Black Zones Gaming venues operate in other parts of the country, and some of them are quite well-established and much larger than their counterparts in the capital. Thahtay Kyun Island, in the Andaman Sea near Thailand’s cityofRanong,hastwocasinos.TheAndaman Club is a Thai-owned golf and casino resort set on 730 hectares. It has gaming machines and tables and offers roulette, blackjack, baccarat and poker. Treasure Island Casino, the largest gaming establishment in the country, is located nearby and offers both EGMs and tables. Access to the islands is relatively simple for Thais and people living and staying in Thailand or regionally. They can fly to either Surat Thani or Phuket and drive to Ranong. From there, the casino is a 20-minute, 5-kilometer boat ride away. Immigration procedures are simplified and no visa is required for Thais or holders of non-Thai passports. The other major center of activity is Tachilek, right on the Myanmar-Thai border near Mae Sai and not far from Chaing Rai. It has more than half a dozen openly run casinos. They include: Regina Hotel Casino, with 12 tables and 30 machines; The Maekhong River, with two floors of gaming; the Allure Hotel, with an estimated 200 machines; The Golden Triangle Hotel, with 80 EGMs and 15 tables; and Las Vegas and the Aka, with only EGMs. An estimated 10 underground casinos are also active in the area. According to a source who has visited the gaming establishments in Tachilek, the gaming machines there are very productive. Other border areas also have casinos. Win Win and the Paradise Casino are not far from Tachilek. The Wangpha Casino & Resort and Japanese-owned M’s Casino are in Myawaddy at Thailand’s Mae Sot border. There is also considerable activity on the Chinese border, and it has been that way for some time. Casinos are established at Mongla, in Shan State near Xishuangbana, China, and 16 kilometers south in Wan Hsieo, though this area suffers from periodic gambling crackdowns by Chinese authorities. In each region, the most common currency is used. In Yangon, it is the Burmese kyat. At the Chinese border, the renminbi is used. Along the Thai border, the baht predominates. While these casinos operate in IN FOCUS The amusement centers don’t seem to fear theft or the authorities. They hide in plain sight. One is above a food court right downtown. Others are in office and commercial buildings. One major center of activity is Tachilek, right on the Myanmar-Thai border near Mae Sai and not far from Chaing Rai. It has more than half a dozen openly run casinos.