There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia casinos that lie just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not legal. Eight gambling dens are established in a relatively small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in an excellent spot, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; still, investment sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored bateau gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slots and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night 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 initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long opened. A total of 150 slot machines and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, 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 slots and sixty six of the common tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel complex that contains numerous conveniences on top of the gambling den, which provides 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 gaming tables.