There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from next door Thailand, where gambling hall gambling is illegal. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a prime location, a 3 to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The astonishing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of controls constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, investment sources are vague. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are apparently needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is accurate of many borders.
The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat casino, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and sixty tables. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred slot machines and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines 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 135 slot machines and sixty six of the normal gaming tables, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel complex that features numerous amenities in addition to the casino, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and 88 gaming tables.