Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where casino gambling is illegal. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and although visas are supposedly required to pass, there are methods around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling hall, features 150 slot machines and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel complex that features numerous luxuries on top of the casino, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 tables.