The Grand Ho Tram, comprising of hotels, villas, a golf course and casinos, has an investment capital of US$4.2 billion and is located in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau.
Village | |
| Hồ Tràm (Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu) | |
Traditional Vietnamese Fishing Boat on Ho Tram Beach | |
| Country | Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Region | South East |
| Province | Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu |
| District | Xuyên Mộc District |
| Capital | Phước Bửu |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (UTC + 7) |
Hồ Tràm is a small beachtown located in Vietnam's Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province, in Xuyên Mộc District. It is situated about 125 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).
Ho Tram’s pristine, undeveloped beachfront sits at just 2 hours from HCMC by car or 90 minutes via the ferry from HCMC to Vũng Tàu.[1] For over a century now, the Vung Tau cape (Cap St Jacques) has been known as a sea-side sanatorium for treatment of diseases with climate and sea water, and it has rapidly become the earliest tourism city of Vietnam. Ho Tram is poised to become a major resort destination as the region develops along with its 'sister' beach destination Ho Coc, which is located at close proximity. Ho Tram provides for the nicest beach in the area combining unspoiled waters with a large and wide beach of clear sand and is an increasingly week-end destination for wealthy Ho Chi Minh City residents as well as emerging as a resort destination for international tourists. Ho Tram also provides local excursions to Binh Chau Hot Springs famous for its relaxing mud baths and curative hot mineral springs said to improve blood circulation and mental disorders. The area is also home to an 11,000-hectare rainforest that was designated as a nature reserve in 1975. Most of the larger wildlife was exterminated or moved for safety reasons (most of the elephants were sent to Thailand), but plenty of beautiful birds and monkeys can be spotted in the forest.
Ho Tram Beach is mentioned by Lonely Planet Guide as the #3 of the Top 5 Places to visit around Ho Chi Minh City Lonely Planet Top 5 Around HCMC.
Tourism growth and development[edit]
The current development plans in this temperate climate of southern Vietnam parallels the early growth of Phuket, Las Vegas and Macau into premier tourist destinations. The yearly average temperature is 28 °C (82 °F) which is more moderate than other South Vietnamese provinces, the annual rainfall is only 1,500 millimetres (59 in) which makes it one of the driest in the country. The temperature of the sea surface is about 25 °C (77 °F) all year round.
References[edit]
- ^Lonely Planet Vietnam - Page 405 Nick Ray, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Iain Stewart - 2009 - 'Another 5km east of Loc An, there's a lovely stretch of sand that's blissfully undeveloped, for the time ... The big draw in this area is the Ho Tram Beach Resort & Spa'
Coordinates: 10°29′N107°26′E / 10.483°N 107.433°E
Thread Rating:
apparently 5star hotels are allowed to have casinos inside.
Vietnam law states that Vietnam citizens are not allowed to gamble there, so you have to show your passport before entering.
there are like 8 casinos in Saigon. they all only accept US dollars. they will exchange VND to USD.
here are the 4 I visited because they were within walking distance of where I was staying.
None had live dealers or video poker. :( all 4 were very small. (only a few dozen slots.)
1) Rex Hotel: accepts copy of passport. has e-Bac/bj/roulette. e-BJ is 8 or 10 deck (depending on machine), s17, surrender, 2 split max, no rsa.
2) Grand Hotel: accepts copy of passport. has e-Bac/bj/roulette/Sic Bo. e-BJ is 6 decks, s17, 4 split, no RSA, surrender.
Roulette promo rumor: if you hit the same # twice, you win 10x your flat bet. don't know if you're allowed to increase the flat bet size after the 1st win. didn't notice what the minimum bet is for e-Roulette but google says $0.25.
didn't ask for confirmation about this promo.
3) Hotel Majestic: accepts copy of passport. has e-Bac/roulette. no BJ. it wasn't busy. Multiple hostesses standing around. One Hostess followed me like a lost puppy.
4) Caravelle hotel: Required original passport, HUGE e-roulette area. e-bac, e-bj= 8deck, s17,4 split, surrender, no rsa
5) New World Hotel: accepts copy of passport. don't remember anything else
6) Sheraton Saigon: I used original passport so don't know if they accepted copies. e-roulette/bac/bj=8deck,s17, 4 split, surrender, RSA! .285% HE!!!
a hostess followed me around. now I think I know why they do that... in case I have questions, which I did. after looking the place over, asked about video poker. she said no. :(
Threre's also a 9th casino. it's just outside the Saigon city limits.
it's called The Grand Ho Tram Strip Casino and is 2hrs away.
It's the closest thing to a US casino. ie: live dealers
Google says there's a poker room for live poker
Vietnam doesn't seem like it's rolling it out. MGM made some sort of investment over there and story goes, they lost money.
Nagaworld in Phnom Penh lures Vietnam players in with promotions and even bus tours. Not many buses however. I've not been to the Cambodian-Vietnam border, but word is there are several properties operating there on the Cambodia side. This isn't far from Saigon. Gamblers will find a way....
The Chinese market is what big properties are after i.e. Macau and now Manila in the Philippines.
Did any of the casinos have chips for the non live games or was it all print out tickets?
all are e-games so tito. (tix in, tix out)
(not listed in the Saigon casinos map found by google.)
7) the Park Hyatt Saigon- separate from the hotel. entrance is to the right side.
3 floors but each floor is very small. combined space is about the same as other the other casinos.
e-roulette/bac/bj=6deck,s17, 4 split, surrender, RSA
but I noticed that the game only checks for dealer bj on Ace only. (don't know about the other casino with rsa.)
so here's the HE if house pushes/wins all splits and doubles on a 10 up blackjack:
Player loses only original bet against dealer BJ: .265%
else .375%
that's 7 out of 10 casinos in Saigon.
11 if you count the one just outside of Saigon (Ho Tram casino)There is a larger casino near Vung Tau called Ho Tram.Originally it was to be managed by MGM.They have a free shuttle from Saigon.Right on the beach.
I called:
free only if you have reservations at the ho tram hotel.
or have a high players card level.