There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight casinos are established in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent destination, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat casino, features 150 slot machine games and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machine games and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that highlights many conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.