There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den betting is not allowed. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent destination, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat casino, contains 150 one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that highlights numerous luxuries aside from the casino, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight table games.