There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent destination, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are allegedly required to cross, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau casino, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 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 quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive vacation and hotel complex that features a number of amenities accompanying the gambling den, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 gaming tables.