There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, where casino gambling is against the law. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia gambling dens is in a prime area, a 3 to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of restrictions requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, funding sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are supposedly needed to pass, there are means around this, as is true of most borders.
The initial Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only 1 casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and 60 tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat banque, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. There are 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and sixty six of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 casinos in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive resort and hotel complex that features numerous amenities accompanying the gambling hall, which offers ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty one armed bandits and 88 table games.