Pattaya police, army bust 32 foreigners for playing bridge

Amid the sleaze that plagues the Thai resort town of Pattaya is a new ring that just got busted – a group of elderly retirees mostly from the United Kingdom belonging to a bridge club.

The alleged card club believed to be ran by a British national in a room above the Alto’s Restaurant off the Thapraya Road in Pattaya, a town famous for night-life and high crime rate.

During the raid the police identified the organizer as 74 year old Mr. Jeremy Watson originally from the United Kingdom, however the police were unable to find any money in a “pot” or evidence of winners handing over money or indeed any gambling equipment other than the playing cards and a book with the names and scores of the players. “But they were detained anyway because they had broken an obscure Thai law, which outlaws the possession of more than 120 playing cards”.

The players were released from Pattaya police station at 3am after paying the equivalent of $194 bail.

‘The chairman of the bridge club is arguing that they were not gambling (for money),’ Suthat said.

Of those arrested there were 12 British nationals, three Norwegians, three Swedes, two Australians, a German, a Dane, a Canadian, a New Zealander and one Dutch and one Irish national.

The official website of the bridge club appeared to have been suspended Thursday.

“Police know that bridge is a sport because a similar case happened before, but this time it was military and district officials who initiated the raid and they probably didn’t know”, said Chaiyut Assanaiyarat, the bridge league’s manager.

The group, which included travelers from Britain and Scandinavia who were mainly senior citizens, was taken into custody by the Pattaya police and had their cards and computers seized.

The Jomtien and Pattaya Bridge Club is popular with elderly foreign bridge players. One woman refused to sign a document stating she was caught gambling.

Local media reported that she intended “to educate police” on the rules of bridge.