Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den gaming is against the law. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect destination, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling den, contains 150 slot machine games and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that highlights a number of conveniences aside from the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and eighty eight tables.
