There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are allegedly necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, highlights one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that contains many luxuries in addition to the casino, which offers ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight tables.