[ English ]

There is a captivating history to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors 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 a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; although, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is accurate of most borders.

The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and 70 gaming 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 dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of 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 vacation and hotel complex that features numerous comforts on top of the gambling den, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 tables.