Cambodia Gambling Dens


There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the border from next door Thailand, where casino gambling is not legal. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered 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 moored bateau gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six 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 machines and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel building that features many luxuries accompanying the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and 88 tables.

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