Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently needed to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that features many comforts aside from the gambling hall, which offers ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and eighty eight table games.