There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which casino betting is illegal. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are apparently required to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 gaming 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 common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of comforts in addition to the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.
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