Las Vegas III has just opened up at the centre of Soi Yamato (Soi 13/1).

I visited the new Las Vegas III a few nights before Las Vegas I was closed for renovation.

The bar is styled as a traditional Soi 13 area gogo. It has a central stage probably big enough for up to 5 dancers. One side of the bar has bench seating. The other side of the bar is designed to cater for more of a hangout crowd. The seats are high stools round small tables making it a little easier for groups of mates to have a chat.

I usually describe bench seating as 'comfortable seating' but in this case it isn't. It looks like there are cushions, but in the fact the seats are uncomfortably hard.

There were quite a few girls in the bar and they were well above the Soi 13 standard. Perhaps the bar is making a special efforts in the early days of opening.

The girls were dancing 3 at a time and were adopting all the dress options between bikinis and nothing.

I'm not sure that the girls were hands on friendly though, certainly none of the half dozen customers had started the ball rolling on that score.

It is probably not worth making any judgements as yet especially the bar has now temporarily been joined by the girls of Las Vegas 1. However the bar has started with some attractive girls so that should make a good basis for a new bar.

Las Vegas GoGo on Soi Yamato (Soi 13/1) is closed for renovation until 16th October.

The girls can be found further down the Soi in the new Las Vegas III GoGo.

And the GoGo count takes a very short dip down to 81. It should bounce back very soon.

A new GoGo has opened in the Covent Garden Complex on Soi 16, a few paces off Walking Street.

Pe P é Club A-GoGo has opened in the small downstairs venue that was previously Dreams, ToyZ and Catz.

The first impression was that ear protection is required.

There were 12 dancers in the bar. 5 dancers were on the stage, 1 or 2 of them were topless and others were bikini clad. No coyote dancers. After the grand-opening, some dancers will be bottomless.

At the moment there is no draft beer and coke was 95 Baht. The drinks menu will be reconsidered after the Grand Opening  on 1st October.

There are currently 82 bars with girls dancing in bikinis or less and a couple more are expected to open or re-open in the next few days.

Exotica has closed on Pratamnak Hill.

It was a gentlemen's club which was pleasant enough but never really built up the required momentum.

It has been reported that the bar will be sold and will revert to housing.

It always strikes me that the main failing of gentlemen's clubs is that they lack a convenient way for customers to select the girls. Soi 6 works because customers select the girl on entry, and GoGos work because the girls circulate via dancing, and make themselves available for selection. In gentlemen's clubs, it is far more random and it is left to the girls to either hide away in the background or select the customers according to their wishes and pecking order. This makes it very hit or miss for customers, and I suspect mostly miss. This in turn seems to reduce the customer base to those guys coming along mostly for a chat with their mates.

Only Kinnaree has been able to build up enough momentum to provide the quantity of girls and the circulation required to make such a venture work for short time pursuits. Perhaps it is a natural monopoly where both customers and girls are attracted to the venue with the most momentum and it is hard for others to break into the market.

There's a new GoGo coming to the Covent Garden Complex on Soi 16, a few paces off Walking Street.

Pe P é Club A-GoGo is set to open in the small downstairs venue that was previously Dreams, ToyZ and Catz.

Update: The new bar is aiming to open 27th September 2012.

World Wide A-GoGo on Beach road between Sois 7 and 8 is currently closed for renovations. The bar is targeting a re-opening on 1st October 2012.

Meanwhile the opening date for Pe Pé Club A-GoGo in the Covent Garden Complex has slipped to the same date, 1st October at 8:30pm.

And another snippet, the price of happy hour draft beer in the Windmill Club has gone up from 45 Baht, to a still good price of 50 Baht.

One of the upcoming bars being built on Walking Street has revealed that it is to be called Mandarin.

This is located at the corner of Soi 14.

The name Mandarin is associated with the Tiger and Shark chain so perhaps another in the chain.

There is also a Mandarin Club on Soi 6 and a Mandarin GoGo in Bangkok.

The Winchester Gun Club is one of the original daytime bars pre-dating gentlemen's clubs. It has been continuing in South Jomtien on Soi Wat Boon. However it has become a little shabby and is now closed for renovation.

The bar will re-open in November and it is promising that it will be a new club.

Las Vegas III has just opened on Soi Yamato (Soi 13//1). It is located next door to the long forgotten Hot & Cold 2.

A review will follow but the first day seemed quite busy perhaps with the help of some temporary staff.

Prices are the same as sister Bar Las Vegas GoGo on the same soi.

So now there are 82 bars in the Pattaya area with girls dancing in bikinis or less. Getting towards an historic high.

Updated: For some reason as yet unexplained this is Las Vegas III, not Las Vegas II as previously reported.

Citing a declining walk by trade in Soi 8 and a inclining rent, Adam of Cherry Bar has decided to upsticks and move to Soi Diana.

So Cherry Bar is now located in the clutch of beer bars between Megabreak Pool and Papagayo.

Adam has always earned a good trade via proactive contribution to Pattaya nightlife and Pattaya forums and should do well in the upcoming Soi Buakhao area.

Private Dancer is already running in the Soi 15 venue that was previously ToyZ.

From Private Dancer:

We bought the old Toyz bar from Robert and also bought the small bar next door called Easy Room. Builders are on site to renovate easy room that will include more seating, a Jacuzzi and play mat area. The two bars will be knocked into one hopefully by next week.

The new format will be standard gogo bar with bar fines at Bt6/7/800 and all bar fines 300 after 1.30pm. There will be no agency girls in the bar.

Manager and co-owner Ricky used to work in Babydolls next door is on hand every night.

Happy hour draft bt45 from 8-10pm and most bottled beers are bt70 to 115

Update: Merger Details

9th September 2012. See article from stickmanbangkok.com

The bar will offer customers happy hour prices ALL NIGHT on Monday.

Private Dancer will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week to allow time for the builders to work and the clean up.

Boss Ricky, new mamasan Da and all the girls will be back on Friday.

Once the work is finished the bar will hold an official opening party.

There is also a website taking shape at privatedanceragogo.com

Baron Club, located at the Pratamnak end of Soi Diamond, was closed last night. The reason seemed to be something to do with the police bike parked in front.

Hopefully just a temporary closure.

Update: Re-opened

6th September 2012. Thanks to Ishi

The Bar has quickly re-opened, and the day off has been attributed to a power failure.

A recent Thai-Anxiety report mentioned a few upcoming new bars around Walking Street.

Well it looks like one of them won't be opening, at least for a while.

Ozone at Bali Hai is closed and up for sale (not rent) before it opened.

Two new GoGos are taking shape on Walking Street.

There is an unnamed GoGo at the north corner of Walking Street and Soi 14. The bar is now advertising for dancers to start work in October.

The second new GoGo is on Walking Street next door to Nui's Club 2. It is now displaying a recruitment banner with the name Ginza A-GoGo. Mr Google reveals that this is an upmarket shopping area in Tokyo, so presumably this gives a clue to the target market.

And news from the downmarket end of the scale, Smile Rock Girls A-GoGo re-opened on Soi 15 after a short renovation.

So whilst we are waiting for the newcomers to get going, there are 81 existing bars in Pattaya featuring girls dancing in bikinis or less.

Smile Rock Girls A-GoGo is located on Soi 15 next door to Misty's

Smile Rock is currently closed for a much needed renovation. Hopefully the renovation extends to winding back the clock a bit for some of the dancers.

For the duration of the rework, there are 81 bars in the Pattaya area with girls dancing in bikinis or less.

Beer Bar at the 2nd Road end of Soi 6 is undergoing a short and well needed refurbishment.

The bar has new owners as per the Soi 6 Corner Bar on the opposite corner. The Corner Bar is very popular so the Bee Bar should be in good hands.

Another bar changing hands is Nightwish Bar. This bar was recently refurbished and is now owned by the owners of Pattaya Addicts forum. Another bar that should be in good hands. The bar is located in quite a 'hardcore' section of the street, being next to Lisa Bar and Red Point.

Taxes for liquor and cigarettes were increased yesterday, with government officials projecting the tax hikes will generate an additional 12 billion baht in revenue for the state each year.

The boost in excise taxes for liquor and cigarettes is also expected to reduce consumption by increasing consumer prices.

Cabinet members approved an increase in taxes for white spirits to 150 baht per litre of 100% alcohol content, up from 120 baht previously. For blended spirits, the tax was increased to 350 baht per litre of 100% alcohol content, up from 300 baht previously.

Cigarette excise taxes, meanwhile, were increased to 87%, up from 85% previously.

Officials estimate that store prices for Marlboro cigarettes should increase by eight baht per pack, six baht for Mild Seven cigarettes and six baht for Krong Thip cigarettes.

Benja Louichareon, director-general of the Excise Department said that the tax hikes were relatively limited as many rates already were at or near the ceiling permitted under the law. Sharp increases could result in more smuggling or tax evasion, she said, adding the Excise Department favoured an overhaul of the entire excise tax structure to allow current rate ceilings to be increased.

Soi 7

Happiness A-GoGo is a newish bar located at the centre of Soi 7

Happiness has introduced a draft beer. It's 50 Baht during Happy Hour until 10pm, but is nearly the most expensive in town at 100 Baht once Happy Hour ends.

Other contenders in the expensive draft stakes are Living Dolls Showcase, TQ1 and Classroom.

Soi 8

Meanwhile a few metres away in Soi 8, the coyote bar, Club 23, is presumably is planning something new. At the moment it is just a gutted shell.

So Soi 8 is down to just one dancing bar at Sexy Girls A-GoGo. Silver Star is on a low season shutdown but is expected to return with the next high season.

ToyZ A-GoGo has been open on Soi 15 since December of last year. However the bar has now become Private Dancer A-GoGo .

It is not yet clear what is behind the change but for the moment everything seems pretty much the same as before.

The Private Dancer name has been used once before on Walking Street. In the dim distant past, the venue that is now Guugle used the name.

Meanwhile on Soi LK Metro the new and smart looking multi level dance bar is now sporting a sign proclaiming the bar to be called Showgirls. The last I heard, the bar will open as a coyote bar just as soon as it can recruit enough staff.

Update: Eazy Private

16th August 2012.

The builders are in at Eazy bar next door to Private Dancer/ToyZ. The reports are that the two bars will be merged to make for a more viably sized bar than the two constituents.

Update: Who's In Charge?

17th August 2012.

It is reported on the Pattaya Forums that Robert the previous ToyZ owner has sold his stake in the bar.

Also Ricky, previously the long running manager at Baby Dolls is now at Private Dancer.

Mum Bar is being renovated ready for a come back. The bar is located on Soi Diamond between Carousel A-GoGo and Rocket A-GoGo.

The bar is now installing a glass front and will re-open soon, presumably still with coyotes dancers, but now with aircon.

Alcatraz A-GoGo is located on Walking Street between Soi 14 and Soi 15.

The bar is making a few changes. First of all the 2000 Baht agency models have been given the push and barfines are now in the 600-800 Baht range.

Secondly the bar is emphasising its shows. The welcome staff now have boards advertising the next shows in 10 minutes or whatever. The bar is adopting the acrobatic pole show as introduced by Iron Club (and also seen in sister bar Queen Club on Soi LK Metro).

It does seem a wise move as there are many more passers by these days more into shows than barfines. Also one has to notice that the existing show bars of Amgelwitch and What's Up are the bars that can get away with the highest drinks prices.

ToyZ A-GoGo on Soi 15 has reduced its draft beer prices. Perhaps in response to the downward move by Baby Dolls next door.

Draft beer is now 45 Baht for Happy Hour until 10pm and 60 Baht thereafter.

Meanwhile The Dollhouse has stopped serving draft beer. However it has introduced a reasonably priced bottled beer with Leo at 85 Baht.

Both bars would probably do better if the girls were a bit more proactive in seeking out customers to schmooze with.

A new coyote bar has opened on Soi Buakhao in front of the Blue Rahtree Beer Bar Complex. This is located at about a third of the way along Soi Buakhao starting from the south end at Pattaya Tai.

The bar is very nicely presented with a good view of the central stage from comfortable seating.

The dancers are strictly coyote, and are decent looking agency dancers that come with an expensive bar fine of 1500 Baht. There are reports that the agency girls and high barfines may be a temporary measure whilst the bar employs its own dancers. The music is loud.

The drinks are priced at high end Walking Street levels with no draft, 120-130 bottled beer and 130 Baht lady drinks. And of course these will be just about the highest in the area, as the Soi Buakhao area is typically cheaper then Walking Street.

And unsurprisingly the high prices have been the talking point on Pattaya's forums. First impressions and all that!

Halo Club is located on Walking Street towards the Beach Road end.

The bar has been open as a disco since September 2011. Now according to Pattaya-at-night it has announced that it will be hosting coyote and GoGo dancing.

This will have to be checked out for bikinis before it is added to the GoGo count.

Halo Club has been offering cheap draft beer for quite a while during pre-disco times, so perhaps it is looking to better fill the club in the early hours.

Phil the jovial manager recently seen at Windmill and the X-Zone has found a new calling at Babydolls A-GoGo on Soi 15.

He will be already well known to customers of Pattaya's most interactive bars, and will be well known to Pattaya forum members by his online alter ego, Mr Egg.

Thursday the 2nd and Friday the 3rd are important Buddha days and the bars, or at least the major bars, will be shut.

2nd August. Asarnha Bucha Day celebrates Buddha's first teach-in and seems to be considered as the first day of the religion. This is also a public holiday.

3rd August. Khao Pansa is the first day of Buddhist Lent which then continues for 3 months. It is not a public holiday, so it seems that bars alone carry the responsibility of closing to mark the day.

The mamasang of Paradise A-GoGo on Soi LK Metro has been arrested after a police sting.

Police claimed to have received a report that Paradise was a front for prostitution and set a trap by sending an undercover foreigner snitch to visit the bar.

After a deal was struck with the mamasang, the man was directed to an apartment complex opposite the bar in the company of a 16 year old girl. Police then raided the apartment and found 16 other women in the apartment, including three similarly underage girls.

She said some of the girls failed to provide their identity cards when she asked, but insisted that they were above 18.

Papa GOGO is attached to Papagayo on Soi Diana

The bar is not really much of a GoGo.

It is a very narrow bar with a bar counter down one side. The seating is mostly comfortable swivel bar stools facing the bar counter. There are a few more similar seats down the other side of the bar.

The bar has three or four podiums behind the bar of which 2 were occupied by topless dancers. They were more or less at opposite ends of the bar and this limited customers view to watching just one dancing girl. And for the moment the dancers were nothing to write home about.

There is a draft beer at 69 Baht and bottled beers are around 110 Baht.

As a GoGo it pretty much a write-off, but thankfully this is not the whole story. The bar is perhaps better thought of as a hostess bar.

As I entered a girl was attached to me via some unseen protocol and acted as my escort for the visit. She was an attractive girl, well talented in the art of small talk, and she made for a pleasant visit.

There seemed to be quite a few girls sitting around that didn't look like dancers, so presumably the hostess thing will be a key part of the Papa GoGo experience.

Papagayo is located on Soi Diana at the end of a small shopping mall opposite Mike's on 2nd Road.

The long established coyote dancing bar has now opened a GoGo next door.

It is small and features 4 mini stages with topless dancers. A review will follow shortly.

So now there are 81 bars in the Pattaya area with girls dancing in bikinis or less.

Papagayo is a well known coyote bar on Soi Diana. It recently expanded into the next door bar which it called Next Door.

However the Next Door extension has now been closed and the builders have moved in. It is set to become a GoGo ready for opening some time in August.