Cambodia Casinos
There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino betting is not legal. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling den, highlights 150 slot machine games and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel complex that highlights a number of conveniences aside from the gambling den, which provides ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.