[ English ]

There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently needed to pass, there are methods around this, as is correct of many border crossings.

The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship casino, contains one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that highlights numerous conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.