There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling den wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that contains many conveniences aside from the gambling den, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight tables.