There is a fascinating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling hall betting is illegal. Eight casinos are situated in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime destination, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; still, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are allegedly needed to cross, there are means around this, as is true of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, contains 150 slot machine games and sixty tables. The Naga casino is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six table games, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (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 familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that highlights numerous comforts accompanying the gambling den, which offers ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight table games.