[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from nearby Thailand, where casino wagering is illegal. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect location, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; still, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are apparently required to pass, there are means around this, as is correct of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship casino, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables 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 features 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional 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 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that contains a number of luxuries in addition to the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 tables.