There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is against the law. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and although visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and sixty table games. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel complex that features a number of amenities accompanying the gambling den, which contains ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 gaming tables.