Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is illegal. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened 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, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and 60 tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that contains numerous comforts on top of the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 tables.