There is an interesting background to the Cambodia gambling dens that reside just over the border from neighboring Thailand, where casino wagering is banned. Eight gambling halls are situated in a generally small area in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This group of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a 3 to four hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two largest gambling locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a thriving business with Thai blue-collar workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income gained from the gambling dens ranges from $7.5 million to more than 12.5 million, and there are a number of limitations constraints for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is required to be mainly Thai; still, investment sources are cryptic. The borders are officially open from 0900 to 1700, and although visas are for all intents and purposes required to pass, there are methods and means around this, as is real of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling dens opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just a single gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored barge casino, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall is open 24 hours with forty two tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. There are one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slot machine games and 68 table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains 300 one armed bandits and seventy gaming tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six table games, 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 eight gambling halls in Poipet, also in a motel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive vacation and hotel complex that contains a number of luxuries accompanying the gambling den, which has 10,000 sq.ft. of one hundred and thirty slot machine games and 88 table games.