There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is banned. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many borders.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that contains many amenities in addition to the gambling hall, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight table games.