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There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den betting is not legal. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime location, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel compound that contains many luxuries in addition to the casino, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 tables.
