Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an appealing history to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is banned. Eight casinos are based in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that features many amenities in addition to the gambling den, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.