There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is not legal. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a few restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship gambling hall, features 150 slot machine games and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 slot machines and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular 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. An additional of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that highlights many amenities aside from the gambling den, which houses ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.