There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where casino betting is banned. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, highlights 150 slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel compound that contains a number of comforts on top of the gambling den, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 tables.