Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is not legal. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat casino, highlights 150 slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the normal gaming tables, 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 166 slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that features numerous conveniences aside from the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 table games.