[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many borders.

The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as 1 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 ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous comforts accompanying the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.