07.11
Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is against the law. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime destination, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat casino, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel complex that contains a number of luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.