There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship casino, features 150 slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that contains a number of comforts in addition to the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.