There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent destination, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly required to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge casino, features 150 slots and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of 150 slots 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 three hundred slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous luxuries accompanying the gambling hall, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 table games.