Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight casinos are situated in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, contains one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that features a number of amenities accompanying the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.