Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty table games. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains a number of amenities in addition to the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.