There is an fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is against the law. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital gained from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are couple of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship casino, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also in a inn, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains many comforts on top of the casino, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.