There is an interesting story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling den betting is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 1700, and though visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel compound that contains many comforts in addition to the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight table games.