Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 1700, and though visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods around this, as is correct of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling den, contains 150 slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one 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 before long opened. There are 150 slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar 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 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel building that features numerous comforts aside from the casino, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.