There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not legal. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent area, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two 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 quickly opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that contains numerous conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 table games.