There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gambling is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship casino, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are 150 slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel building that features many comforts accompanying the gambling hall, which has ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.