02.17
Cambodia Casinos
There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is not legal. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is correct of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat casino, highlights 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that features a number of luxuries on top of the gambling den, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 tables.