Cambodia Casinos
There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino gambling is illegal. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, features 150 slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel compound that highlights many luxuries aside from the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 tables.