There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is banned. Eight casinos are based in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect spot, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and five 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 three hundred slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 table games.