Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which casino gaming is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling den, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slot machines and 5 table games 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 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, 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 resort and hotel compound that features numerous comforts accompanying the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight tables.