There is a captivating background to the Cambodia gambling halls that lie just over the dividing line from neighboring Thailand, in which casino wagering is banned. Eight casinos are situated in a relatively small location in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia casinos is in an excellent spot, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai laborers and travelers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very few Westerners. The phenomenal capital gained from the gambling halls ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few restrictions constraints for casino ownership. Ownership is presumed to be mostly Thai; however, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are ceremoniously open from 09:00 to 17:00, and though visas are allegedly needed to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is accurate of most border crossings.
The original Cambodia gambling dens premiered 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 boat casino, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling den is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of blackjack, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and 1 each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machines and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort features three hundred one armed bandits and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 baccarat chemin de fer (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and sixty six of the normal tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 slot machines and 97 casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel building that features a number of amenities in addition to the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.