There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling den wagering is against the law. Eight casinos are based in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime spot, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; still, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is correct of many borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling den, highlights 150 slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel compound that highlights numerous conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.