There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is against the law. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; however, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and though visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked barge gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a comprehensive resort and hotel compound that highlights numerous luxuries on top of the casino, which has 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and 88 table games.