Casino Strategies for Dummies
There is an interesting story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den betting is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers 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 phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, 10 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, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of conveniences in addition to the gambling den, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.