There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is illegal. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship casino, features 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six 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 sixty six of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel complex that features a number of luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which provides 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.