Cambodia Casinos
There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where casino gambling is illegal. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling hall, contains 150 one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel complex that contains many comforts on top of the gambling den, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.