There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is banned. Eight gambling dens are based in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect location, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling hall, features 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around resort and hotel compound that features a number of conveniences in addition to the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 tables.