Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den betting is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is correct of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened 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, an anchored ship gambling den, highlights 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also 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 a multinational vacation and hotel building that features numerous luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which houses 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight table games.