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There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino betting is not allowed. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime destination, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and although visas are apparently required to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains a number of amenities accompanying the gambling den, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight table games.

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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.