There is an appealing story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling den wagering is banned. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling den, features 150 slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos 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 part of an all-around resort and hotel building that contains many luxuries in addition to the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 gaming tables.