There’s an interesting history to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from bordering Thailand, where gambling establishment gambling is illegal. Eight casinos are located in the fairly tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia bettings houses is in the perfect location, a three to four drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia bettings houses do a booming business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only quite few Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the casinos ranges from seven dollars.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are few restrictions or registration requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; nonetheless, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to five p.m., and despite the fact that visas are theoretically necessary to cross, you will find ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling establishments opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, except were forced to close in 98, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling establishment, features 150 slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga casino is open round the clock with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Paigow poker and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling establishment in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and a hundred and four slot machine games and sixty-eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Gambling establishment and Resort characteristics 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Gambling den, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty-six slot machine games and ninety-six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Double-hand. Also, there could be the Betting house Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Gambling establishment Stud Poker. An additional one of the eight bettings houses in Poipet, also in a hotel, may be the Princess Gambling establishment with 166 slot machines and ninety-seven games. The Star Vegas Betting house is part of an international resort and hotel complex that features many amenities in addition to the gambling den, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 slots and 88 table games.
Across the Cambodian border at Asmech/Surin is one gambling establishment, the Betting house O Samet, with a hundred slot machines and 50 tables of baccarat chemin de fer. Furthermore, the Koh Kong Gambling establishment, in the province of Trat, is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with one hundred slot machine games and 4 table games. A smaller gambling den, Le Macau Betting house and Hotel, opened recently at Bavet on the Vietnamese border.