There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is not permitted. Eight casinos are based in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect destination, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, contains 150 slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that contains a number of comforts aside from the gambling den, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 gaming tables.