Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is banned. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau casino, contains 150 one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that contains many comforts accompanying the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.