There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is prohibited. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a 3 to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are officially open from 09:00 to 17:00, and though visas are apparently necessary to cross, there are ways around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machines and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of luxuries in addition to the casino, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 tables.