There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, where casino gambling is banned. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime spot, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving 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 gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machine games and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that features numerous amenities aside from the casino, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight table games.