There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, where gambling den wagering is against the law. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally tiny area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest wagering 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 couple of Westerners. The phenomenal income accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a couple of limitations constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are apparently required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked ship casino, features 150 one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga casino never closes with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of blackjack, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel building that contains many conveniences aside from the gambling hall, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slots and eighty eight gaming tables.