There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia casinos that reside just over the border from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is against the law. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and even though visas are for all intents and purposes required to cross, there are methods around this, as is correct of most borders.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty table games. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two 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 followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel compound that contains numerous conveniences aside from the gambling den, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and 88 gaming tables.