There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, in which casino gaming is not legal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens 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 docked ship gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 table games. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slots and 70 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 beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel complex that features numerous luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 one armed bandits and 88 table games.