There is a captivating story to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is not permitted. Eight gambling dens are based in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The phenomenal capital accrued from the casinos ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are supposedly required to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is real of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving just one casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, highlights 150 slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 slot machines and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six table games, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slots and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational resort and hotel compound that highlights a number of comforts accompanying the gambling den, which has 10,000 square feet of 130 slots and eighty eight table games.