Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gambling is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and even though visas are apparently needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, 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 slot machines and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that highlights a number of luxuries aside from the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.