There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where casino gambling is against the law. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games 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 (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel building that contains many luxuries on top of the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.