There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is not permitted. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits 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 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel complex that features numerous luxuries on top of the casino, which houses 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.
