There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall betting is prohibited. Eight casinos are established in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect area, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten 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, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machine games and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that contains a number of conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.