10.26
Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a few controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is real of most borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel building that features a number of conveniences accompanying the gambling den, which provides ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 tables.