There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den gaming is not legal. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge casino, contains 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one 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 quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and seventy table games 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 popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, 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. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel building that highlights numerous comforts in addition to the gambling hall, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.