[ English ]

There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino betting is against the law. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened 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, an anchored boat gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel building that highlights many comforts accompanying the casino, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 tables.