There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just over the border from nearby Thailand, where casino gaming is banned. Eight gambling halls are situated in a relatively small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing income acquired from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, features one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 tables. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-punto banco, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long opened. There are 150 one armed bandits and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machine games and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat (the most dominant 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 familiar table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international resort and hotel complex that contains numerous conveniences aside from the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and 88 gaming tables.