There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino gambling is not allowed. Eight casinos are situated in a generally tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime location, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge casino, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel building that highlights a number of luxuries in addition to the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slots and 88 tables.