Cambodia Casinos
There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where casino wagering is illegal. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are allegedly required to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the normal tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel complex that highlights many conveniences in addition to the casino, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.