There is an interesting background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 17:00, and though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that features a number of conveniences in addition to the gambling den, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight tables.