There is an interesting history to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens 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 amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, features 150 one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that contains many luxuries in addition to the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight table games.
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