07.20
Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling den, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of twenty-one, 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, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that highlights numerous comforts on top of the casino, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.