There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 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 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel compound that features many luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 tables.