[ English ]

There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight casinos are established in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime location, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, financial sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are allegedly required to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of many borders.

The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five tables 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 contains 300 one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that features numerous luxuries on top of the casino, which contains 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 tables.