There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just across the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling hall betting is not allowed. Eight casinos are anchored in a generally tiny area in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent location, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling halls do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The astonishing income acquired from the gambling halls ranges from 7.5 million dollars to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, funding sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are for all intents and purposes necessary to pass, there are means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored bateau gambling hall, contains 150 slot machines and sixty gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The 1st gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly opened. A total of 150 slot machine games and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machines and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features 300 one armed bandits and 70 gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive vacation and hotel compound that features a number of conveniences accompanying the casino, which offers 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight table games.