[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are means around this, as is accurate of many borders.

The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel complex that highlights numerous luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 table games.