There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent destination, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games 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 three hundred slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that contains many amenities accompanying the gambling den, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and 88 gaming tables.
