There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gaming is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent destination, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the normal tables, as well as one 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 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel compound that highlights numerous amenities aside from the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.