There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the border from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is illegal. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent destination, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel complex that contains numerous luxuries aside from the gambling den, which contains 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.