There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are established in a relatively tiny location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and although visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel complex that highlights numerous luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and 88 tables.