[ English ]

There is an appealing story to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is prohibited. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is correct of most borders.

The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 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 before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel building that features a number of conveniences in addition to the gambling den, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.