There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is against the law. Eight gambling dens are situated in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent spot, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; still, financial sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den 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 one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that highlights many conveniences aside from the casino, which houses ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.