There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is banned. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime destination, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened 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 docked bateau gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel building that contains numerous amenities aside from the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.
