[ English ]

There is an appealing background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.

The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, features 150 one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 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 the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel complex that contains numerous conveniences in addition to the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 tables.