10.02
Cambodia Gambling Dens
There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino betting is against the law. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are supposedly required to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of many borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel building that features a number of comforts accompanying the casino, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 table games.