There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the border from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods around this, as is real of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling hall, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the common tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel compound that highlights many amenities in addition to the casino, which has 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and eighty eight gaming tables.