There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which casino wagering is banned. Eight gambling dens are situated in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is real of many borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling hall, highlights 150 one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel complex that contains a number of conveniences aside from the casino, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 tables.