There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling halls that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is prohibited. Eight gambling dens are situated in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai laborers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and even though visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of 21, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and 96 table games, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the normal tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel complex that features numerous luxuries on top of the gambling den, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.