[ English ]

There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is against the law. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest 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 couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two 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 quickly opened. There are 150 slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that features numerous comforts aside from the gambling den, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and eighty eight table games.