[ English ]

There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where casino gaming is banned. Eight casinos are established in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most borders.

The first Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel building that contains a number of conveniences accompanying the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and eighty eight table games.