[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent destination, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.

The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau casino, contains 150 slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that highlights many conveniences on top of the casino, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.