09.06
Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gambling is not legal. Eight gambling dens are situated in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a prime destination, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling den, features 150 slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that contains many conveniences accompanying the casino, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.