There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gambling is banned. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat gambling hall, highlights 150 slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first 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 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including 87 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 66 of the common 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 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel building that contains many comforts in addition to the gambling den, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.