A winning wager
Near the river in Phnom Penh and next to Diamond Island, there’s a huge, bunker-like building that is almost always a beehive of activity. Inside, there are people enjoying an evening concert or strolling around studying the decor, including large stone faces of the Buddha. Others, however, are occupied with more mundane matters-placing bets at Black Jack or Baccarat tables or perched in front on slot machines. Most aren’t speaking Khmer, but Vietnamese. Welcome to NagaWorld and, more generally, gambling in Cambodia-an exploding sector on which the country is placing a big bet. It’s laying money on the forecast that casinos will be a motor of economic growth, a source of government revenue and a magnet for tourists from the region and beyond. This is a golden era for the casino in Cambodia, one of the fastest-growing gambling markets in the region. Strong economic development and more disposable income, the need for new jobs, low levels of regulation and a regional Asian culture that simply loves to wager have combined to make the Kingdom’s gambling industry a winning hand for investors. …
