There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are apparently needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel compound that contains a number of conveniences in addition to the gambling den, which houses ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 tables.