There is a captivating background to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not allowed. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent area, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are allegedly required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, contains 150 slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that highlights many comforts aside from the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.