There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which casino gaming is banned. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that features numerous amenities on top of the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and eighty eight table games.
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