There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, where gambling den wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of 21, ten 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, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are 150 slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, 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. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains numerous amenities accompanying the gambling den, which houses ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 table games.