There is a captivating story to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den gaming is not legal. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are apparently needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of most borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel complex that highlights a number of comforts accompanying the gambling den, which contains ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight gaming tables.