There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are supposedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of twenty-one, 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 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that features a number of conveniences accompanying the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.
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