Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which casino betting is not allowed. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is real of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel complex that highlights a number of conveniences in addition to the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight tables.