Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is correct of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, contains 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel compound that contains numerous luxuries on top of the casino, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 table games.