There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling den gambling is illegal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a prime location, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; still, investment sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored ship gambling den, features 150 slot machine games and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 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, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel complex that contains a number of luxuries accompanying the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight tables.