[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of most border crossings.

The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel complex that highlights a number of conveniences aside from the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.