[ English ]

There is an interesting story to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect destination, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and even though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables 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 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that contains a number of comforts in addition to the casino, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight tables.