There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino wagering is banned. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a relatively small area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary barge gambling hall, contains 150 slots and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of conveniences in addition to the gambling den, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.