Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, where gambling den wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel building that features numerous luxuries in addition to the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.