There is an appealing story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, where gambling den gaming is prohibited. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, contains 150 one armed bandits and sixty tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machine games and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel complex that highlights many comforts in addition to the casino, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slots and eighty eight tables.