There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gaming is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a huge business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; still, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, 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 slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open 24 hours with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and seventy 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 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, 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. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel building that contains a number of amenities in addition to the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.