[ English ]

There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gambling is against the law. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many borders.

The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, highlights 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel building that features many conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 table games.