There is an appealing history to the Cambodia casinos that sit just across the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal income acquired from the gambling dens ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; still, financial sources are ambiguous. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked boat gambling den, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel complex that features numerous comforts in addition to the gambling den, which contains ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 table games.