Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gaming is illegal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime area, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming locations 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 few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of most borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel complex that contains a number of amenities in addition to the gambling hall, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and 88 gaming tables.