Cambodia Casinos
There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is against the law. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling den, highlights 150 slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that features a number of luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 tables.