There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is banned. Eight casinos are established in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are ways around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The first Cambodia casinos 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 boat gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga casino is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel building that contains a number of luxuries in addition to the casino, which houses ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 tables.
