There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is banned. Eight casinos are based in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent spot, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are means around this, as is correct of many borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slots and 60 tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 one armed bandits and 70 gaming tables 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. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 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 slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around vacation and hotel building that highlights many amenities in addition to the casino, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight gaming tables.