There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where gambling den betting is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau casino, highlights 150 slots and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machine games and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel building that contains many amenities aside from the casino, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight table games.