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The odds are strongly against any terrorist wanting to sneak into the Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila.

Taxis dropping off passengers must first stop at a security post, pop their trunks and submit to an under-car probe by what looks suspiciously like a giant dental mirror.

After pulling alongside the casino itself, visitors are treated to an elaborate fountain of dancing waters that move in rhythm to blaring pop music. Colors flash across the pulsating streams as the scene is punctuated by occasional bursts of flame.

Before entering the casino, prospective gamblers must walk through an airport-style metal detector and then undergo a full-body pat down. This is followed by a slightly apologetic bow and an enthusiastic welcome to Manila’s latest venture designed to attract overseas visitors, wealthy domestic players, and a slice of Asia’s rapidly growing financial venture economists call the gaming market and most people think of as gambling.

It’s been a year and a half since the Solaire became the Philippines’ capital’s first “integrated resort” with a construction price tag of more than $1 billion.

Three other projects with similar construction costs are planned for the surrounding area over the next several years. Closer to the airport, another integrated resort featuring casino gambling opened in 2009.

Hawaii’s government is not immune to such temptations. Lobbyists are certain to rekindle discussion of the financial potential of limited legalized gambling in the next legislative session.

Analysts say that venture, called “Resorts World Manila,” doubled the country’s gambling revenues. Its success drew not only interest and money from investment groups with a combination of local and foreign money, but also support from a government eager for tax revenue and increased tourist arrivals.

The city and national governments are united in their enthusiasm for the promise of gambling riches. If the four-resort casino plan comes off as expected in the still-developing “Entertainment City” region of Manila, government officials say their take from gambling will surpass that of Las Vegas.

The financial firm PWC expects growth in the Asia Pacific “casino gaming industry” will approach nearly 20 percent a year through the end of next year. That’s roughly four times faster than the company’s expectations for the United States.

And outside of the former Portuguese colony of Macau, there is no legal gambling for the Chinese, a target group that is increasingly going overseas to satisfy their desire to wager.

One result is that casino projects are under construction or planned in countries from South Korea and Vietnam to Japan and certain smaller islands in the Asia Pacific. And it’s not just private investors and large corporate entities pushing these developments. City and national governments facing fiscal challenges and looking for quick fixes have been tempted by the shiny allure of potential fresh revenue.

Hawaii’s government is not immune to such temptations. Lobbyists are certain to rekindle discussion of the financial potential of limited legalized gambling in the next legislative session.

Faced with the reality of the state’s massive unfunded pensions responsibilities, both the state and the City and County of Honolulu are eager to consider revenue-generating opportunities. But Honolulu would do well to consider the downside risks at the table as well.

Manila is a city choking on its own growth. Infrastructure is woefully in need of repair and nothing illustrates that point like the city’s traffic jams, which are growing in frequency and duration. A cab ride from one part of the city roughly four miles from the Solaire Resort and Casino can take more than an hour. A highway expansion program currently in the works displays billboards urging patience, because the next step of the project will be completed in a mere three years.

The casinos are moving much faster than the traffic here, but those expected hordes of overseas visitors have yet to develop. On a recent evening, there was plenty of room at venues from slot machines to gaming tables; none of them were crowded and many tables were not in operation. Over in one of the areas set aside for high stakes betting, there were conversations in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, as well as some in English. But the biggest clientele in the casino was local.

Representatives of the casino and government officials put a bright face on their prospects, and point to future growth they expect. Gamblers are free to smoke in the casino, incentives continue to draw visitors — although it is unclear exactly how many — and there are plans for Solaire to add more hotel rooms, a shopping mall and a large theater.

For those officials, it is a slightly twisted field of dreams. At this point, they have built it. As for the wave of expected overseas visitors, they’re still waiting for them to come.