Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which casino betting is against the law. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that features numerous luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.

