There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which gambling den gaming is not allowed. Eight gambling halls are established in a generally small space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent destination, a three to 4 hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling 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 only very few Westerners. The amazing income gained from the casinos ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a number of controls constraints for gambling den ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mostly Thai; although, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and although visas are for all intents and purposes needed to cross, there are means around this, as is accurate of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau casino, features one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with 42 tables of mini-baccarat chemin de fer, 4 tables of vingt-et-un, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are 150 slot machines and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including eighty seven baccarat chemin de fer (the most popular game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 slot machine games and 66 of the common tables, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight gambling dens in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a comprehensive vacation and hotel complex that highlights a number of amenities accompanying the casino, which houses 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 table games.