Winner Boys in Sunee Plaza opening February 18th

[firecat69]

where's relevance ? we don't fly to Thailand to be in our home countries ( Thai nationals and residents excluded ) 

The relevance is simple. If you can't do it in the country you reside in why would you think you can pollute the surroundings of others in a country you are visiting which by the way it is also illegal!

[vinapu]

The relevance is simple. If you can't do it in the country you reside in why would you think you can pollute the surroundings of others in a country you are visiting which by the way it is also illegal!

isn't a whole point of travelling to see the sights and do things we don't have at home ?.

 

Its hard to be in Oklahoma and swim in the sea at the same time and no Russian ever came to Thailand to see the snow.

 

I don't defend smokers in bars  but sometimes think we in the west are overregulated.   Not that Thailand is free of that sin - see ban on food and drinks in BTS, , granted it helps to keep it pristine clean.

 

I like smokers - they help to keep Earth from overpopulation

[firecat69]

 

I like smokers - they help to keep Earth from overpopulation

Fine as long as it is their own population! When did you get lost and ride the Skytrain instead of walk?

[spoon]

Lol, i dont judge people but i judge people behaviour. Same with boys, i dont mind offing a smoker but just dont smoke in my face lol

[kokopelli]

And yes I dare any of you to question me on my smoking if you see me in a bar. As said before, if you do I will make sure all my second hand smoke finds it to your face.

Lighten up(not light up)samebb, you, as a smoker cannot understand the effects of smoking on others who are non-smokers.

Those who can understand are ex-smokers who do know the difference. No one hates you, just hate the smoke. Simply take a smoke break outside and return to enjoy the show. Why ruin a good time for the other customers?

[a447a]

This opinion that people should alter their behaivor to please you is retarded.

No, you're retarded.

 

Your behaviour is not only selfish, it is putting the health of innocent people in danger. It is a well-established medical fact that second-hand smoke is a carcinogen.

 

What right have you got to endanger people 's health?

 

Is it really that difficult to step outside, thus allowing non -smokers to also enjoy the bar?

[vinapu]

Fine as long as it is their own population! When did you get lost and ride the Skytrain instead of walk?

hard to walk from Super Hero Sukhumvit soi 81 or something all the way to Silom soi 8 

[hanan]

The bar has now put up no smoking-signs. Problem solved

[firecat69]

Good for them!!

[Travellerdave]

I've been in Winner Boys tonight at about 10.30 pm. I was quite impressed by the boys dressed in white tight briefs, braces and bow ties, and more impressed by the low drinks prices. I only paid 60 baht for a soda - contrast that with the 150 I was charged in Cupidol for a coke. The place had a fair number of customers and I hope it succeeds. The rest of Sunee seemed very quiet.

[firecat69]

If I knew how to do a poll (somebody help) I would ask for the time frame to expect drink prices return to normal.

[williewillie]

The good news for most of us is that ashtrays are no longer available at Winner and smokers are asked to sit outside on

the terrace. The farang owner has been very receptive to the concept of no tobacco smoking inside the bar.

All boys are at least 20 y.o. and Thai citizens. The bikini shorts make for good eye candy. Little bow ties very cute too.

Not so many boys on the stages as many were sitting with customers. Total about 15 boys. Lots of customers .

[vinapu]

If I knew how to do a poll (somebody help) I would ask for the time frame to expect drink prices return to normal.

Probably there's no such thing as normal when comes to drink prices but I know what do you mean - if drink prices will be too low , bar may have a problem  to make a profit in such secluded location. Krazy Dragon in it's last incarnation had low drink prices and did not last long unfortunately.

 

One can only hope that savings on cheap drink prices are passed by clients  over to boys sitting with them

[firecat69]

You are right! One can only hope! Just for historical data , I can remember 4 Bars in that location and they all failed . Good Luck to the owner who invested his money!!

[Vessey]

Half the problem, IMHO, is that all too many gay bars in Pattaya absolutely suck when it comes to self-publicity.

 

Some of the most successful girl agogos - Sapphire is the best example, and girl bars, have their own web-sites, Twitter pages, and Facebook pages that are regularly updated - sometimes daily, with lots of pictures of their staff. It gets a lot of chatter going and a buzz about the place that draws visitors to them. Consequently Sapphire is usually rammed with customers even in the depths of Low Season. Parties and competitions are regularly promoted.

 

The At Home Bar in Jomtien is the best I have seen at social media promotion and it always seemed the busiest down there.

 

Winner Boys might be a really great bar, but if not enough people know about it then it will be as doomed as so many others in Sunee Plaza have been.

[a447a]

I agree.

 

I've often wondered why the bars don't do some kind of advertising in China. Why don't they advertise on the gay websites? Even if a minute percentage took note and visited Pattaya, the gay bars would be overflowing with customers. Sunee would be back to its old self. New bars would open.

 

Then all it would need would be for these visitors to return to China and spread the word among the gay community.

 

It seems Chinese don't off boys. Good! More choices for us. But importantly, their custom would ensure the bars were profitable and keep them open.

 

But expecting Thai businesses to display any initiative is a forlorn hope. Christ, they can't even cooperate to stop small bars driving customers away with their over -the -top loud parties in the sois which last till the early hours in the morning.

[williewillie]

I was chatting with one long time expat, who said he was a regular at Krazy Dragon when they offered

40baht Heinekens. He didn't go for the boys but like the low priced beers. Krazy Dragon went thru a series

of horrible managers who were clueless and the worst one loved parading in police uniform swinging a nightstick.

He must be in heaven now with trump as president.

[firecat69]

Wishful thinking.  It's the old adage, what comes first the chicken or the egg.   If they advertised and bused a bunch of Chinese to Sunee ,word would immediately get out that the trip was worthless.  BT and associated Bars may not be LasVegas but the quality of the street lighting and at least a few Bars that have kept up appearances are far superior to anything that Sunee now offers .

 

For most their first visit would be their last .  And no one is going to spend a lot of money opening Bars that could compete with Boyz without the knowledge that customers would come.

 

What is left of Sunee survives because of Ex-Pats which continue to dwindle. They spend time there because of the cheap drink prices which is not a criticism but just a fact.  They reside in Pattaya and cannot go out every night and especially not at BT prices vs. Sunee. Beer Bars kept Sunee going for awhile because bribes to police were small or non existent and thus prices were low .They always had some cute boys but naturally dressed, but now many of those customers have moved to Jomtien for the same reasons.

 

It also did not help that for years any new prospective owners had to negotiate with Ms Sunee which was always long and painful or so I am told.

 

BKK was able to take advantage of the Chinese because naturally there are more planes landing at Swampy and they want the big city.  Soi Twilight always had Bars with shows and a certain vibrance for new visitors .  Soi Twilight would be out of business if not for the Chinese and other wealthy Asian countries. 

 

Anyone who has ever talked to the German Manager of Dream Boys knows that he will tell anyone that the Chinese saved that business and the rest of the street. But the Bars already existed so there was not much that needed to be done except what they had always done.

[kokopelli]

Wishful thinking.  It's the old

 

What is left of Sunee survives because of Ex-Pats which continue to dwindle. They spend time there because of the cheap drink prices which is not a criticism but just a fact.  They reside in Pattaya and cannot go out every night and especially not at BT prices vs. Sunee. .

Many of the ex-pats don't go out, not because they are cheap or have no money, but because they have lost interest in sexual escapades or get their sexual encounters on sites like Romeo. They just don't support the gay venues such as Sunee, Boyztown , etc which means these venues may die off. Sunee is a great place to check out the few go-go bars since the experience there is more hands on than in Boyztown. Also the many beer bars are good places to converse with friends plus find company for the night.

[firecat69]

Here is a map Gaybutton did almost a year ago. Be interested on any updates.  Also wonder if anyone has a Map from the Glory Days of Kaos etc.

 

http://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?t=7793

[firecat69]

There are lots of positive reports on Winner over on Gaybutton especially this weekend. I don't think anyone has mentioned where the owner is from?  So far he seems to be able to recruit new boys and has many Happy customers both because of the boys and the very low drink prices.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens as the newness wears off and inevitably the prices go up. High season will soon be over and then the true test will begin . I wish him nothing but luck. If he can make it work there are plenty of empty spots for others to try.

[firecat69]

So to answer my own question. The owner is Danish and owns a Lady GoGo Bar on Walking Street. So at least we know he understands how to run a Bar. One poster said he is paying boys 8000 baht per month. If that is true and continues, he will have an endless supply of boys.

 

Maybe A447a this is the start of revamping of Sunee and attracting the Chinese with well run Bars and willing boys .

 

However the true indication will be when April arrives until next December.

[reader]

A successful manager (as this Dane surely is) very likely has a schedule with waypoints he needs to tick off if Winner Boys will remain viable.  He knows the seasons and can predict the potential traffic. He knows customers, like restaurant-goers, are drawn to the most crowded places.  He's fully aware that he must maintain the original buzz that has prompted the positive postings on all the message boards which function like Trip Advisor ratings.

 

Sounds like a good business plan. But even the best plans can go awry as firecat points out.  He needs to keep staff pacified and happy because they are--in the final analysis--his primary asset.  This is where it will get tricky: fail at this task and customers (and revenue) go south like birds in winter.

 

If firecat's premise is correct--and there's little reason to think it's not--then its up to ex-pats to make or break this place, particularly in low season. Not being being one (I'm writing from 10,000-mike away), I can't speak for them but I gather from  board postings that they like what they see. They've long offered suggestions on what a difference good management of a Sunee bar could make. Now they appear to have it.

 

If, on the other hand, kokopelli's premise is correct that dwindling libido coupled with the convenience of on-line shopping make Winner--or anyplace like it--a dinosaur, then this is just a momentary blip in a continuum that knows only one direction.

 

In any case, Winner Boys may well represent the last best attempt to keep Sunee on its feet. Until the reinforcements arrive again from the western front, it's up to you, besieged ex-pats, to fight the good fight!

[firecat69]

I believe there is a distinct difference between the Seasons for Walking Street and Gay Streets and especially Sunee.  The lows are much lower for Gay Streets IMHO.

 

I also believe big difference in the acceptability of things charged. I'm pretty sure off fees on Walking Street are much higher then Gay Venues.  Drink prices are much lower on Walking Street. 

 

I have no idea what the relative rents are or what it costs to pay off the police.  So there are lots of new things for him to learn but at least he knows how to run a Bar which is a step up from some recent other failures who had no idea how to run a Bar.

[a447a]

Firecat wrote:

"If they advertised and bused a bunch of Chinese to Sunee ..."

 

I agree with you - tour groups wouldn't come to Sunee.

 

But I was thinking I about individuals or couples, more interested in cock than shows.

 

As koko points out, Sunee is hands-on. Many of us farang enjoy a cock in our face, and so would many Chinese. Race doesn't come into it. Gay men are gay men - it doesn't matter where they come from.

 

And don't you think there would be heaps of Chinese guys who would think they'd died and gone to heaven on entering Goodboys and heading off behind the screens? I mean, how many jack-off bars are there in China? (or anywhere, for that matter). And how many of them would have laid eyes -and hands -on a huge Isaan appendage?

 

The word just needs to get out that these bars exist. If nobody knows about them, obviously nobody is going to turn up.