There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den wagering is not allowed. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau casino, contains 150 slots and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel compound that features many conveniences accompanying the casino, which houses 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.