There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; although, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are apparently required to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling hall, contains 150 slots and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains numerous luxuries accompanying the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 tables.