[ English | Deutsch | Español | Français | Italiano ]

There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is against the law. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are couple of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.

The 1st Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of 21, 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, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundres and four slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a inn, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel building that contains numerous luxuries aside from the casino, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.