There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, highlights 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and 70 table games 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 (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains many conveniences in addition to the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.