There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, where casino betting is illegal. Eight casinos are established in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling den, highlights 150 slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that contains many luxuries accompanying the casino, which has 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.