Construction of a Gambling Den in Sihanaukville

I heard so much about Sihanaukville from the internet and the people that I met travelling around and one thing was clear is that the advised was either heaven or hell type of description. Some say its the best place in Cambodia while others said its ruin by the China money influx. 

Otres Beach in Sihanaukville - The last resemblance of the past. 

I had to see it, for better or worst, fake or real, it is what it is currently and as bizarre a story can get, I felt that this was new age culture travel that somehow will be the next definition of tourism. The extreme theme tourism. As I rode Bluey near the edge of Sihanouk City, I was greeted with the familiar memory of me going to work everyday in a construction site.

Roads were a mess, damaged everywhere due to overloading by trucks and trailers and even heavy excavators moving from one construction site to another on normal public roads. Everywhere was a skyscraper in the making, a grand building that seam given time will become a futuristic city of sin. Imagine The Daystar Casino in Planet Ahakista in StarWars and Sihanaukville was soon on the path of glory or debauchery depending on ones moral view. 

Ongoing Construction of New Hotels & Casinos 

Construction Everywhere in Sihanaukville 

As I talk to some surviving hostels and small business owners, this massive change of development started four years ago and has driven all the prices up from rent to food and most of them had call it quits selling everything and moving out or about to throw in the towel.

It was quite a sight with the existing and new casino in operation trying to somehow have a resemblance of dignity and style indoors while ignoring the bulk of ugly construction going on smack right outside the doorstep. 

Old & New and Upcoming Casinos in Sihanaukville 

All the sudden development and electric power was insufficient so the new hotels and casino buildings all had a land space set aside just beside with armies of generator constantly buzzing(blaring) combined with fumes and granite dust.

Outdoors were not an option to spend in Sihanaukville so naturally I was indoors gambling. I visited all the casino I could see, just to experience what it was like inside the gilts but it was a whole new layer of segregation. There was the rich, the super rich, somewhere in the middle and the poor all gambling in different casino catered for individual category so they wont mix. 

Vegas Sokha Casino in Sihanaukville (One of the few casino that has Blackjacks)

WM Casino, Foduna Casino - Sihanaukville

Golden Lion Square in Sihanaukville where all the Locals Hang out after work.
Every one of them wore an employee uniform of one casino or another. 

What happen was the completed 5 stars or 7 stars casino and hotel had all the whale gambler tourist and non of the no money like me would dare to even think of entering and just observing the antiques of the riches.

I of course was oblivious to these China social status class regime and went in everywhere with my slippers and shorts so long as they did not say no. Some actually tried to tell me I was not in the right place in Mandarin but when I asked in English with confidence, they backed away almost immediately letting me pass.

Stacks of USD100 bills were laid out on the gambling table like it was spare change, women that seem like a doll would throw away thousand on a hand just to prove a point and more money flowed into the Casinos with one round of whale compared to down-end where mass crowd bets on a small little table taking forever to turn a round 

Ceiling Display Inside a 5 Star Hotel & Casino Sihanaukville

Then there is the smaller casinos, scattered all over small nooks and crannies in Sihanaukville that still caters for the China money. All these new development is being built not only by China money but also China worker and by sun fall the hoard of workers are all inside the casino gambling their daily wages away. Its amazing how crazy it is going overseas to earn better money doing hard construction labor only to gamble it all away every night. 

One of the Many Little Casino in Sihanaukville 

Sihanaukville was something special in Cambodia once, and from the transformation that I am seeing, it will be something special even in the future after all these changes. Just entirely different.

Traveled on: Dec 2018
#Gambling #Sihanaukville #Casino