Cambodia Casinos
There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is banned. Eight casinos are based in a generally small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and though visas are allegedly required to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship casino, features 150 one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy 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 eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that highlights many conveniences in addition to the gambling den, which offers ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight tables.