There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and even though visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel compound that contains numerous comforts in addition to the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.