There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gambling is against the law. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally tiny area in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a three to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are apparently required to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling den, features 150 slot machine games and 60 gaming tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of twenty-one, 10 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 before long followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and sixty six of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that contains numerous luxuries in addition to the gambling den, which contains 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.