There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is against the law. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect spot, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge gambling den, features 150 slot machine games and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 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 soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved 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 gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that highlights many amenities on top of the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 table games.