[ English ]

There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many border crossings.

The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains many amenities aside from the gambling den, which has 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.