04.14
Cambodia Betting Halls
There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling establishments that lie just across the national boundaries from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is illegal. Eight casinos are situated inside a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This area of Cambodia casinos is in a prime place, a three to four drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only really few Westerners. The incredible income gained from the casinos ranges from seven dollars.5 million to over 12 million, and there are few limitations or registration prerequisites for betting house ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; on the other hand, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from nine a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are purportedly required to cross, you’ll find techniques to circumspect this, as is true of the majority of border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia bettings houses opened in Phnom Penh in ninety-four, except were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a fixed boat casino, attributes one hundred and fifty slots and 60 table games. The Naga betting house is open round the clock with forty-two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-gow-poker and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. You’ll find a hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and a hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort attributes three hundred slot machine games and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Gambling den, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most well-known game), Fan Tan, and Pai-gow. Moreover, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Gambling den Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Betting house with 166 slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Betting house is part of an international resort and hotel complex that characteristics a number of amenities in addition to the betting house, which has ten thousand sqft of a hundred thirty slots and eighty eight table games.
Across the Cambodian border at Asmech/Surin is one gambling establishment, the Casino O Samet, with a hundred slots and 50 tables of baccarat chemin de fer. Additionally, the Koh Kong Betting house, in the province of Trat, is open daily from nine a.m. to ten p.m., with one hundred slots and four table games. A smaller gambling den, Le Macau Betting house and Hotel, opened recently at Bavet on the Vietnamese border.