There is an interesting story to the Cambodia gambling dens that lie just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which gambling hall wagering is prohibited. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally tiny location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The amazing capital accrued from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, financial sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 9:00 a.m. to 1700, and despite the fact visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is correct of many borders.
The 1st Cambodia casinos premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a stationary boat gambling hall, features 150 one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are 150 slots and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common gaming tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an international vacation and hotel compound that highlights many amenities accompanying the casino, which contains 10,000 square feet of 130 one armed bandits and 88 gaming tables.