Cambodia Gambling Dens
Wednesday, 3. February 2010
There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall wagering is prohibited. Eight casinos are anchored in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table 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 quickly followed. There are 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven 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 familiar table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel building that contains many luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 tables.
Posted in Casino by Allisson