There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a 3 to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, financing sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored boat gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains a number of conveniences on top of the casino, which has ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 table games.