[ English ]

There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is banned. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are apparently needed to pass, there are methods around this, as is real of many border crossings.

The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, 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 casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel complex that highlights a number of comforts aside from the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand square feet of 130 one armed bandits and 88 tables.