There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is not legal. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens 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 bateau gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slots and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel compound that contains a number of amenities in addition to the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight table games.