There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling den wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally small location in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 most popular gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital accrued from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 17:00, and though visas are allegedly required to cross, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling halls 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, a moored bateau casino, contains 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the familiar tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-around resort and hotel complex that highlights a number of comforts aside from the gambling den, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.