There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest wagering locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; although, financial sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 1700, and even though visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, highlights 150 slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that features many comforts on top of the gambling den, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.