There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is banned. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are methods around this, as is real of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-around vacation and hotel complex that contains numerous comforts aside from the casino, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.