[ English ]

There is an appealing history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is not allowed. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia casinos premiered 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 docked boat casino, highlights 150 slots and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, 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. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that highlights many comforts on top of the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.