There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den gaming is illegal. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau casino, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that highlights a number of amenities on top of the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.