There is a fascinating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that sit just over the border from nearby Thailand, in which gambling hall gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling dens are situated in a relatively small location in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect spot, a three to 4 hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mainly Thai; however, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and though visas are allegedly required to cross, there are methods around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machine games and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, four tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 5 table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven punto banco (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slots and sixty six of the common 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 motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slots and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an international vacation and hotel complex that highlights a number of conveniences in addition to the gambling den, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and eighty eight gaming tables.