There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino wagering is banned. Eight casinos are based in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular 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 gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are means around this, as is correct of many borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel compound that contains many luxuries accompanying the casino, which provides ten thousand square feet of 130 one armed bandits and 88 table games.