There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling den wagering is not allowed. Eight casinos are established in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income acquired 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 few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling hall, highlights 150 one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel complex that features numerous luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.
