2017
01.29

Cambodia Casinos

[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is banned. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 1700, and although visas are allegedly required to cross, there are means around this, as is correct of most borders.

The 1st Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel building that contains a number of luxuries in addition to the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight table games.