[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is banned. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are allegedly required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.

The first Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that contains many luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which has 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.