There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, where casino gaming is not allowed. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect location, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular betting locations in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; although, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 1700, and despite the fact visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, features 150 slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of 150 slots and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slots and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international resort and hotel compound that features numerous amenities accompanying the gambling hall, which houses ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight gaming tables.