Cambodia Casinos
There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where casino gambling is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five 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 three hundred slot machine games and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also 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 an all-around resort and hotel building that highlights many conveniences aside from the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and 88 gaming tables.