Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an interesting story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino gambling is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are methods around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten 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 followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 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 eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains many amenities in addition to the gambling den, which offers ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 table games.