There is an appealing history to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is illegal. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, financing sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, contains 150 slots and 60 tables. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which has ten thousand square feet of 130 one armed bandits and 88 tables.