Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as one 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 slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel complex that contains a number of comforts accompanying the casino, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight tables.