There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are allegedly necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that contains many comforts aside from the casino, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 tables.
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