I'd expect this as well. Even in Cebu City 50/100 ($1/$2) doesn't always run, so I'd expect it to be no better then that in Davao.

Outside of Manila it's going to be hard to play any higher then 50/100 ($1/$2) in legal games in casinos and cardrooms, and sometimes you may even have a hard time finding 50/100.

Certainly if you want to play 100/200 ($2/$5) you should go to Manila, and not bother anywhere else.

is this a long term place or just a hotel? only prices i could find were nightly ($60)

user reviews were ok on it, sounds like its not all that nice but in a good location, thats enough for me

I assumed it was a long-term place. Great local.

Try tropical palms makati, same area i know for sure its long-term, but might be higher up on the price scale, I know a guy had 2bed there for 50k p.m

Concerning the banks and gambling type transactions in the Philippines i'd love to get more info from any grinders currently out there.

Reading through this thread on the recommended site Poker Manila it seems to indicate:

http://pokermanila.com/index.php/topic,7308.0.html

1. Transactions over $1k USD are typically scrutinized
2. Banks may ask for detail/confirmation on where these funds come from.
3. They will be ok with you saying it's poker related and showing them poker winnings info.

This might be completely wrong...just looking for some regular grinders making '000's USD to let us know if you have any issues/advice. I may just visit a number of banks when I arrive and point blank ask them what their expectations are and try to feel them out...telling them i sometimes play poker, theoretically would they have a problem with a deposit etc.

I'm heading to Manila in August and plan to look around a few places before deciding where to live (Thailand, Singapore, Philippines). Cheers, really appreciate this forum and it's members!

My experience with SE Asia (I've spent a lot of time in Thailand and Philippines and a bit in Cambodia and Lao,) is this.

All they care about from you is money. If you are paying the proper fee on whatever it is you are doing, they won't care about anything else, just the money.

If no one posts any solid info before you get there , would you please share what you find out in august.
i played on several sites from there without depositing or cashing out but never inquired. Planning to be there full time next year . Only info apart from that , i was unable to download party from there , even with party giving me a link , no idea why.

I use a local bank and I've had no problems receiving amounts of 2k to 3k usd by bank wire from the PokerStars cashier, and also Party Poker wires and checks from Full Tilt (when that was still around). No questions asked, just some delay in clearing a check, and some fees for conversion from other currencies and possibly miscellaneous inter-bank fees.

But I am a resident and a citizen. Things may be a little different for non-citizens.

appreciate the suggestion but that place is damn expensive, site says 50k for a 1 bedroom, even if u can negotiate its gonna be way above my broll

Extremely disappointed with manila so far,especially resorts world management who's been holding on my money transfer from Hong kong for 5 days already. Updates to come

Whenever I wire money from Pokerstars, it takes 3-5 banking days to arrive.

Probably not related, but just in case...

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=63
"The Philippines is on the brink of getting blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) following its failure to meet a deadline for the passage in Congress of stronger anti-money laundering laws."

I have been following this issue for a while now, so far no update. One possible repercussion of getting blacklisted by FATF would be increased difficulty in sending money to and from PH.

I have a question (i have no idea about this) how did resorts world management end up with your money?

Would love to hear some positive feedback about Manila. So far its how bad the food is, how crazy the streets are, poor casino management, 4 hour waiting lists, expensive rents. So the only positive thing I can see is the availability of girls no matter of your age or size.

I'm heading there Monday, but having regrets that I didn't go to Thailand, but I just have to know what the scene is like there to decide where I'm going next.

and I've been to Manila before but it was a stop before a vacation in Bora. I didn't play any poker, just railed at the Hyatt, and it didn't look good so I bounced to MBC.

I've already had a problem with my hotel reservation, and I'm not even in country yet.

I got thrown out of the card room at resorts world when I was there lol

what did you do? lol

Just took a couple of pics of the cardroom which apparently is a no no. They were already pissed off with me because I kicked up a fuss when they bumped a local into a game ahead of me, it was clearly a friend of theirs and they thought nobody would notice. I had already been waiting a long time so I wasn't putting up with that. So I guess taking the pics was an excuse to ask me to leave.

I think that to an extent, we need to accept putting up with a certain amount of this type of behavior.

Think of all of the advantages you have as a foreigner there in a cheap third world paradise. It seems only fair we could let the Filipinos get away with a few small things of this nature in return.

I mean the last time I lived there, to be honest, I was always on the look out for them trying to **** me over, so I can't say I've practiced what I am preaching here, but it seems to me when I am there again I might do better to let some of the smaller things go by, and only make a rukus when they REALLY try to stick the needle in.