There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just across the border from nearby Thailand, where gambling hall wagering is not permitted. Eight casinos are based in a relatively tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This conclave of Cambodia casinos is in a prime destination, a 3 to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest gambling centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital acquired from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to over twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling den ownership. Ownership is required to be largely Thai; although, funding sources are vague. The borders are ceremoniously open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of most borders.
The first Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were required to close in the late nineties, leaving just 1 gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau casino, contains one hundred and fifty slots and sixty table games. The Naga gambling den is open all hours with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. There are 150 one armed bandits and five table games at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and 68 tables at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machines and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including eighty seven 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 machines and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, again in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel compound that features numerous conveniences on top of the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and 88 tables.