03.20
Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat casino, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel complex that highlights a number of amenities in addition to the gambling den, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.