There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling hall betting is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a prime spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are apparently needed to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored ship gambling hall, features 150 slots and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 one armed bandits and 68 gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel complex that highlights many luxuries on top of the casino, which offers 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and eighty eight tables.