[ English ]

There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not allowed. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of most borders.

The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling den, features 150 slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that features many conveniences on top of the casino, which has 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.