There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling den betting is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors 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 couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, financial sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, contains 150 one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga casino never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 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. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel compound that contains a number of luxuries in addition to the casino, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 tables.