There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; however, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling den, highlights 150 slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that features numerous conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.