[ English ]

There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino betting is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints 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 though visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel building that highlights many conveniences aside from the gambling den, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.