[ English ]

There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is not legal. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, financial sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling den, features 150 slots and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel compound that highlights many comforts aside from the gambling den, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.