Cambodia Casinos
There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the border from next door Thailand, in which casino betting is illegal. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest 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 one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel building that contains a number of conveniences accompanying the casino, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.