[ English ]

There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den gambling is illegal. Eight casinos are established in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent spot, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, investment sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are supposedly required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.

The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling den, features 150 slots and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular 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 familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel building that highlights a number of conveniences in addition to the casino, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.