There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino betting is against the law. Eight casinos are based in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau casino, contains 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel building that contains numerous amenities aside from the casino, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.
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