Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming MAY 2015 24 the Edges Cover Story Ready or not, Donaco International’s purchase of Star Vegas Casino in Poipet puts Cambodia’s border casinos in the spotlight By Muhammad Cohen Y ou won’t see hitching posts, tumbleweeds or swinging door saloons, but Poipet in Cambodia is the frontier. This casino strip lies just past Thailand’s busy border checkpoint at Aranya Prathet, where some 5,000 people cross into Cambodia daily. After passing an arch crowned in the style of Buddhist stupas, travelers must walk some 200 meters through the heart of the strip to reach Cambodia’s immigration post and receive their visas. The largest of Cambodia’s 14 border casino areas—six on the Thai side and eight on the Vietnam side—Poipet serves as a gateway from Thailand for trade and travelers to the ancient Angkor Wat complex. Poipet’s first casino, Holiday Palace, opened in 1998 with 12 tables. Today, Poipet has ten casinos with about 750 tables, 3,900 gaming machines and around 2,500 hotel rooms along an inverted L-shaped strip with that welcoming arch at its corner. Poipet casino customers are almost all Thais, who don’t need visas to enjoy legal casino gaming not available at home. Rough Around