There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from next door Thailand, where gambling hall betting is illegal. Eight casinos are anchored in a relatively tiny location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling dens is in a perfect destination, a three to four hour travel from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The astonishing capital acquired from the casinos ranges from 7.5 million dollars to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a number of restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, funding sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 5:00 p.m., and although visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are ways around this, as is true of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single casino in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau casino, features 150 slot machines and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with forty two tables of mini-punto banco, four tables of chemin de fer, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The first gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machines and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 table games, including 87 baccarat banque (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. In addition, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the common table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational resort and hotel building that highlights numerous comforts accompanying the casino, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and eighty eight tables.