Sixteen gamblers — 14 Thais and 2 Singaporeans — were arrested during a raid on a luxury condominium in Watthana district of Bangkok in the early hours of Saturday.
A combined team of police and soldiers raided a unit on the 13th floor at Le Cullinan on Soi Sukhumvit 39 in Khlong Tan Nua around 3am on Saturday.
Gamblers who were playing poker on the first floor of the two-level unit rushed to conceal the gambling paraphernalia but it was too late. All 11 men and five women at the venue were apprehended, Thai media reported.
Seized were two poker tables, one card table, 2,465 chips, 37 decks of cards, four tip boxes and some books detailing income and expenses.
None of those caught claimed to be the person responsible for operating the gambling den.
A police investigation found that the den had opened on July 4 and had almost one million baht in circulation each day. A South Korean national reportedly rented the condo unit for 100,000 baht a month. The gambling operator had kept changing venues, mostly at luxury condomimimums in inner Bangkok.
Most of the customers were businessmen and wealthy people who had to apply for membership and transfer money to the operator before being allowed to try their luck, said police.
All of those arrested were charged with illegal gambling and taken to Thong Lor police station.