Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is prohibited. Eight casinos are based in a relatively small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and despite the fact visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge casino, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 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 quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that features numerous conveniences aside from the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 tables.