[ English ]

There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, where casino gambling is not legal. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively tiny area 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 biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, highlights 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (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 common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel building that highlights many luxuries in addition to the gambling den, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.