Inside Asian Gaming

OCTOBER 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 47 COLUMNISTS the border. In addition, a regularly scheduled bus service from Bangkok, mini buses and taxis combine to provide a reasonable mix of transportation alternatives. An old rail system that runs fromBangkok is slated to be replaced with a high-speed line that will ultimately link Bangkok with Cambodia and China. Poipet is undergoing a transformation. New hotel towers are rising as existing casino operators re-invest in their properties in order to attract overnight visitation. What these operators have recognized is that, like other regional markets, reinvestment in high quality facilities can attract new market segments that seek entertainment experiences that go beyond a baccarat game. BAVET The town of Bavet sits on the border of Vietnam, nearly halfway between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh. National Highway 1, which runs through Bavet, is a primary transportation corridor between the two cities. Roughly two hours from Ho Chi Minh City, Bavet is the closest place that residents of Ho Chi Minh City can go to gamble. Immigration policy allows Vietnamese passport holders to enter Cambodia without requiring a visa. Ho Chi Minh City center is only 70 kilometers from Moc Bai (Vietnam’s border gate) and a regular bus service is available every 40 minutes, making transportation easy and relatively inexpensive. Its casinos’ appeal and success are based on geographic convenience to its target market, the nine million residents of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. That population is growing rapidly and is set to reach 13.9 million by 2025. Currently, 13 casinos line either side of National Highway 1 west of the border gate, with quality generally varying from half star to 3 stars. Like Poipet, the operators in Bavet are also expanding their properties with higher quality overnight accommodations. SIHANOUKVILLE Sihanoukville is a deep water port and down- market vacation destination on the Gulf of Thailand in southwest Cambodia. It is serviced by a modest sized airport, capable of accommodating A-320/737 aircraft on its single runway. There are approximately 17 casinos currently in operation in Sihanoukville’s tourism corridor on or near Victory Beach, Independence Beach and Ocheteaul Beach, with a total of 27 casino licenses issued as of December of 2017. In 2015, the market had nine licenses. The casinos that are open today are generally small and range in quality from half star to 3½ stars. Sihanoukville is undergoing a dramatic transformation from a backpackers’ beach town to a vacation-condominium market. Rising along the beaches are no less than a half dozen high-rise mixed- use condominium/hotel/casino projects. The scale of some of these properties