[ English ]

There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where casino betting is not permitted. Eight casinos are established in a generally small location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is accurate of many borders.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, highlights 150 slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel building that features a number of luxuries accompanying the gambling hall, which has 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight tables.