[ English ]

There is an appealing background to the Cambodia bettings houses that lie just over the national boundaries from neighboring Thailand, where betting house gambling is illegal. 8 gambling establishments are positioned in the relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is inside a perfect location, a 3 to 4 drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia bettings houses do a booming business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only incredibly couple of Westerners. The incredible earnings acquired from the casinos ranges from seven dollars.five million to over 12 million, and there are few restrictions or registration requirements for betting house ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; nonetheless, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from nine a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is true of the majority of border crossings.

The very first Cambodia bettings houses opened in Phnom Penh in ‘94, except were compelled to close in 98, leaving only one gambling establishment in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a fixed boat gambling establishment, functions one hundred and fifty slots and 60 table games. The Naga gambling establishment is open round the clock with forty-two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in ‘99 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty-eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Gambling establishment and Resort attributes 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Gambling den, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty-six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most popular casino game), Fan Tan, and Pai gow. In addition, there is the Gambling establishment Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also inside a hotel, may be the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty-six slot machines and ninety-seven games. The Star Vegas Gambling establishment is part of an international resort and hotel complex that characteristics several amenities in addition to the betting house, which has 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 table games.

Across the Cambodian border at Asmech/Surin is one casino, the Casino O Samet, with 100 slot machines and fifty tables of baccarat banque. Also, the Koh Kong Gambling establishment, in the province of Trat, is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to ten p.m., with a hundred slot machines and four table games. A smaller betting house, Le Macau Casino and Hotel, opened not too long ago at Bavet on the Vietnamese border.