There is an appealing story to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gaming is banned. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect destination, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, highlights 150 slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that highlights many comforts aside from the casino, which provides ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight table games.
