Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is banned. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, contains 150 slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos 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 a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains many luxuries accompanying the casino, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 gaming tables.