[ English ]

There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den gambling is against the law. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are means around this, as is correct of most borders.

The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel complex that contains a number of amenities accompanying the casino, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight table games.