There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the border from next door Thailand, in which casino wagering is prohibited. Eight casinos are anchored in a generally small area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime destination, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and despite the fact visas are apparently needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that features a number of conveniences accompanying the gambling den, which contains 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight table games.