There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is not allowed. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent area, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial 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, a moored ship gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games 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 one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel compound that contains many conveniences accompanying the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.
