There is a captivating history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and although visas are allegedly necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel complex that highlights a number of amenities on top of the casino, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.