Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is a captivating history to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are allegedly necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that contains many conveniences on top of the gambling den, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and eighty eight table games.