There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are apparently needed to cross, there are means around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The first Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel compound that contains many comforts in addition to the casino, which houses 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.