There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall betting is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are means around this, as is real of most borders.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and 60 table games. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that highlights many conveniences accompanying the gambling den, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 gaming tables.