[ English ]

There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally small location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.

The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of blackjack, ten 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 soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal table games, as well as a single 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 one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of luxuries accompanying the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.