There is an appealing history to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is illegal. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary bateau casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel building that highlights numerous amenities on top of the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 tables.