[ English ]

There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is against the law. Eight casinos are established in a generally tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, financial sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, features 150 slots and 60 table games. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that features numerous comforts aside from the gambling hall, which has ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.