There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, where casino gaming is not legal. Eight gambling halls are based in a generally small location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a prime area, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; still, funding sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and though visas are allegedly necessary to cross, there are means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary ship gambling den, highlights one hundred and fifty slots and 60 table games. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of twenty-one, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machines and 66 of the familiar gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machine games and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel building that contains a number of amenities accompanying the gambling den, which offers 10,000 square feet of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight tables.